I am a spy, remember?
by LadyMris
Summary: Tony is living his life without Ziva but he isn't really living is he? He is just existing, going through the motions with things he hopes makes him feel better. One day when Tony is on his own at work he gets a call from a co-worker that will change his life completely. TIVA (I write nothing else). I'm rating this T but there are a few short bits that are sensual not M though.
1. Chapter 1

**Note: Hi everyone! I have decided to do one more fanfic. I will be honest and tell you I almost didn't do this because there have been so many rocks thrown at us Tiva lovers that it is hard to keep the muse going. But here it is and I want to dedicate this to Roxy, Zoya, Talimon, CelestialZ, and every single Tiva lover living in the bubble with me! In the bubble we can have Tiva! **

**Now, this story isn't going to be updated all that quick. I have a few chapters already written but I haven't finished writing this so it will be one of those please have patience with me stories. But just like every other story I have published here I promise to finish it. I will likely put up chapter 2 fairly soon tho. And don't forget to feedback! Keeps me going in rough Tiva times!**

**This chapter is rather long and a bit technical.. any questions ask in feedback and I'll do my best to answer them. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS but I'd do a much better job with it! Alas. **

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"Morning, Tony," McGee looked up curiously from his computer as Tony sauntered to his desk, set down his pack and a box of donuts. "What ya got there?"

Tony smirked as he saw Probie's eyes wander to the box he'd just set down.

"Morning," Bishop looked up from her keyboard and stared directly at said box on his desk.

Tony slipped his coat off and tossed it in its usual spot in the filing cabinet then offered a toothy grin to his colleagues, "I'm not sure," he shrugged, "looks like a very special agent's breakfast to me."

McGee turned his attention back to his screen and continued typing as he rolled his eyes. Bishop's smile fell as she opened her desk and pulled out a bag of corn chips.

"Oh come on," Tony picked up the box and headed to McGee's desk, "you really thought I wasn't going to share a dozen donuts?"

"You're Tony," McGee stated as he gleefully picked out one covered in sprinkles, "one never knows."

Tony sauntered over to Bishop's desk and offered her a choice from the box, "The new Tony shares...on occasion," he said back to McGee as Bishop lifted a Boston crème from the box. Tony returned to his desk and set the box down at the corner. "Where's the bossman?"

"Tony, McGee," called Gibbs from just outside MTAC.

"As if on cue," Tony muttered as he turned and looked up. He saw Gibbs gestured for them to join him on the upper level.

Bishop looked to Tony but he ignored her. Gibbs didn't call her up. Tony heard Tim tell her to email him a copy of last week's arrest report. Tim's sly way of saying stay at your desk and hang tight.

Tony reached Gibbs first and notice him glance at Bishop before turning his attention to just him and McGee.

"There is a raid going down today," Gibbs started. "Warehouse district, two Navy men part of a drug smuggling ring. There is a big shipment scheduled to arrive today for distribution. Going to be a lot of gang members and such. We're supposed to take part with DEA."

"Not with Bishop," Tony stated flatly.

"She needs to cut her teeth on something like this," Gibbs grumbled.

"If you want her teeth shoved down her throat along with a bullet then by all means let's go," Tony challenged.

"Tony's right," McGee nodded, "she isn't ready for something like that. She isn't…"

"She isn't Ziva," Tony finished. "And she's not anywhere close."

"Fine," Gibbs spat, "I'll send Gillman's team. I'll be in MTAC with the director all day. You two do what you're going to do." He vanished through the MTAC doors a moment later.

"Gibbs is crazy if he thinks she can handle a full blown raid," Tony shook his head.

"I know he wants to train her," McGee glanced over at Tony, "we just need to give this a shot."

"It's been a year, Tim," Tony's jaw clenched, "she is greener than asparagus."

"Asparagus?" McGee repeated.

"Go with the analogy," Tony rolled his eyes, "its piss poor back up. Whatever…" he started heading back down to his desk.

"Anything up, guys?" Bishop asked the moment they rounded the desks. "What's Gibbs doing?"

"He's up in MTAC," answered Tony, "working with the Director. They're going to be at it all day and probably into the night."

"Yeah," McGee sat and then started picking off the sprinkles from his donut, "they are working on some tactical exercises."

"So we're on our own," Tony smiled and leaned back in his chair.

"Well," McGee brushed the sprinkles into the trash then took a bite of his donut, "you are actually. I'm heading to Abby in a few to help her with some stuff Collins team wants and Bishop-"

"I'm heading over to the gym," she grumbled, "Gibbs wants me to improve my hand-to-hand so I have to have a day with a Garson Blake," she said looking at a note on her desk," in the NCIS gym."

"Ohh," Tony grimaced, "Garson makes hardass sound warm and fuzzy. Good luck with that."

"Oh yeah," McGee half coughed, half chuckled, "only one agent could really face him and..." he glanced at Tony, "and you'll do fine. Just remember to duck alot."

Bishop finished stuffing her donut in her mouth and stood, grabbed her coat and bag then looked to McGee, "duck, got it. Ok, better get going, thanks for the donut, Tony. See you guys later."

"Laters," McGee nodded.

Tony offered a small smile as Bishop walked away.

McGee rose from his desk, "I better get down to the lab before Abby sends some robot bloodhound after me."

"Robot bloodhound," Tony rubbed his chin, "there could be uses for something like that. You should patent the idea, probie."

McGee shook his head and took off for the elevator.

Tony grinned to himself as he thought about Garson Blake and how the only agent to best him in years, if ever, had been Ziva. Gibbs would be able to but Gibbs didn't engage with trainers at the gym. Garson beat down pretty much every agent until his ninja took him down in less than thirty seconds that first time. The look on Garson's face had been priceless.

He remembered how he'd walked by Garson with his trademark smirk and said, _my ninja_. He was never going to say that about Bishop, not that he'd call her ninja, but he knew he'd never see her do what Ziva did. Then again, he was probably being unfair, not many could do what Ziva could. He was proud of Ziva, of having her as his partner –that kind of pride would never happen with Bishop. He felt more like a babysitter to her than a partner.

He'd caught how McGee had censored himself, censored the memory but sometimes he wished McGee, hell all of them, wouldn't stop just short of mentioning Ziva and they'd come out with her name, the memories, everything. Every day he missed her, every day he struggled to get through without her and it felt like it was getting worse not better the more time passed. There was a dull ache inside him that wouldn't go away and he knew…he didn't want it to.

But he still wanted to hear her name, remember stuff like Garson and Ziva's first showdown. At least hearing her name now, again from their friends would mean she was still alive for them too; he wasn't sure anymore really. Had everyone just forgotten?

He guessed they didn't want to talk about Ziva with Zoe in Tony's life. Even if lately, Tony wasn't really sure he wanted Zoe in his life. She'd become possessive and it made him uncomfortable, itchy all over. Last night he had to feign a bad back just to get out of her late night booty call. She'd offer to come to his place and finally see it but Tony brushed that idea off. He didn't want her in his apartment and that alone should really push him to end things.

He knew, without question now...he could never really move on. Part of him was missing and there was just no way to fix that unless Ziva returned to him. He just didn't want anyone else. He couldn't replace his ninja like Gibbs kept replacing Shannon. He knew he'd tried that with Zoe and it was unfair and probably cruel and it did nothing to dull the pain. There simply wasn't anyone else.

So he existed. He covered up his pain around his friends and somehow made it through each day - hoping it was one day closer to seeing her again.

Tony pushed his thoughts of Ziva to one side, as he did every day. He pulled up his unfinished paperwork and got to work. A few hours passed, in which a file of agents seemingly emerging from nowhere stopped by his desk to snatch a donut. When he went to check the box it was empty. He had a few choice phrases for the person who took his last donut and just as he was about to get up to stretch and possibly snag a chocolate bar from the vending machine his phone rang.

"Very Special Agent DiNozzo, how can I help you?" he said into the receiver.

"Hey, Tony, it's Jardine, got a few minutes to come over and visit? I have something I need to share with you."

"Um," Tony frowned, thinking his chocolate craving would have to wait, "sure. Anything for the new head of the Mid-East desk. I'll be right over... oh hey want a hot dog? I think I'm going to stop at Franny's cart on the way to your building."

"No thanks," he could hear Jardine cringe, "I don't eat food prepared by others, remember?"

"Right," Tony rolled his eyes, "I'll be there in a bit." He hung up the phone, grabbed his coat and stopped in the atrium to get his hot dog before heading over to Jardine's building.

After jumping through the security hoops in place to get into the Intel building he made his way up to the fifth floor and Jardine's new office. "Hey stranger, still outrunning the germs?" He said as he took a seat in front of her desk.

Jardine smiled and indicated the anti-bacterial gel on her desk.

"Tony," Jardine started, "do you remember a case you worked involving a Nasim Hakari?"

"Hakari?" Tony jumped slightly in his seat, he hadn't expected to hear that name, he leaned forward curious, "Of course, it's one of the biggest cases I ever worked for NCIS. The first real feather in my cap. Why do you ask?"

Jardine shifted in her seat uncomfortably and stared at him for a moment. "I saw a file when I was at DOD a few days ago," Jardine started. "It was Hakari's file and it was massively redacted. I had to take a look at the file in relation to some of my contacts in Iraq." She tapped a file folder on her desk, "One item that wasn't redacted was "_NCIS Agent"_ but the agent's name was blacked out. So I looked up Hakari in our files and found out that you helped put him away? But the details are sketchy. Actually, a lot of files regarding your time in Egypt were checked out by DOD some time ago." She adjusted in her seat, "But I asked you here because…well, I'm worried about some of the things I found out. Tony," she leaned forward over her papers, "do you think it's possible Hakari may hold a grudge against you?" Jardine asked as she pursed her lips.

"Possible?" Tony scoffed, "That man would want my head on a rusty spike. I found him, tricked him and caught him. But he's in a dungeon somewhere in Egypt why would he be important now?"

"He isn't in prison anymore, Tony," Jardine said, "when Mubarak fell in 2011...some months later he either escaped or was released. But he's been out of jail for years now. If anyone has made a connection between him and your previous case.. I'm surprised you haven't been informed? This man is dangerous; I think he's responsible for the death of one of my contacts in Iraq. And if he has a grudge against you…"

"You mean he's more than an ex-con roaming war ravaged streets now?" Tony asked as he readjusted in his seat uncomfortably.

"I've received reports that Nasim Hakari's power is rising in Syria," Jardine tapped a file on her desk. "He's either working inside ISIS or with them but there is some sort of connection. I'm telling you this because as his power rises and he has access to more money he could go after some old enemies and you're on that list. There have been reports that some of his former allies, who purportedly betrayed him, were found dead near the Egyptian border. He's been-"

Tony narrowed his eyes, "Doing a godfather style vengeance mission, eh? So wait, he's been out since 2011? Can you look up everything we have on him? Are there any movement reports from his early days of freedom?" Tony's spidey senses were tingling as Jardine talked about Hakari. A name he hadn't heard or thought of in years but someone who'd want to tear him apart if he could. Hakari was a killer without a hint of the remorse gene and Tony had been responsible for stuffing him in a windowless, solitary cell for nearly a decade. Oh yeah, this SOB would want revenge but why hadn't he moved on him already?

Jardine nodded, "DOD Intel tracked him in those first few months. He slipped into Syria early on and there is a report that he made a side trip to Yemen before returning to Syria." Jardine leaned forward over her desk, "He is mentioned in an NSA report that your partner, Bishop did. She filed a copy of it with us last year."

"What?" Tony pressed.

"NSA had the most comprehensive file on one of Hakari's contacts...it's just, well, suspicious timing with everything that went on…" Jardine squinted at the screen in front of her.

"What is?" Tony demanded.

"Hakari met with Benim Parsa in early 2012," Jardine offered, "It was directly after Hakari was credited with masterminding a theft of gold and artifacts in Syria. Apparently, Hakari has been making it a mission to acquire quite a bit of financing. It's possible he was involved in the bank heist in Mosul with ISIS among many other thefts in the region."

"Benim Parsa?" Tony could feel his throat closing on the name.

"Yes," Jardine confirmed. "And with what went down with you guys and Parsa and SecNav Jarvis' death. I'm just surprised no one flagged Hakari to you before now. I mean I guess it's possible Bishop didn't make a connection but.. well.. it's sloppy."

His mind was working overtime as he was trying to put the pieces together, "wait, are you saying Hakari and Parsa could have allied?"

"It is possible," Jardine stated, "Or perhaps monies were exchanged? Parsa's funding did seem to take a jump up around this time. It helped finance Parsa's attacks on us, including the bomb that killed Jarvis. Bishop explains it in the report but she never did any follow up from what I can see. The report includes Parsa's financials and they definitely increased directly after his meeting with Hakari."

Tony stood and started to pace the room, an uneasy feeling creeping up his spine, "Hakari could have had Parsa target us. The MCRT specifically. That's why we were attacked...I mean," he glanced at Jardine with an incredulous look, "there really was no reason for Parsa to target us specifically when there are thousands of Federal agents in DC. Unless..."

"Unless Hakari paid or cajoled or simply asked him to," Jardine finished as she pulled up some additional files from DOD. "If you guys were targeted once, you could be again, at least you would be Tony. What exactly happened between you and Hakari?"

"Gibbs and I went to Egypt in 2002 investigating the murder of a petty officer on leave there," Tony started, "We caught the killer fairly quick but the paperwork to get him out of Egypt was hell. Gibbs dealt with the State Department and I had some free time. I hung around with a few Special Forces guys at the Embassy from Iraq. They were telling me about how they were tracking Hakari who had been amassing forces in Northern Iraq and when I got a look at their files I realized there was a way to catch him. I worked with those guys to hang a carrot out for Hakari. Hakari was looking for a bomb maker and I offered myself up as one eventually luring Hakari out of hiding and into our trap. When it was over Director Morrow gave me a commendation and bumped me up in pay grade. Hakari was sent to a deep, dark prison hole in Egypt and I forgot about him."

"He didn't forget about you," Jardine said as she pointed at her computer screen then looked at Tony with wide eyes, "Tony, there seem to have been other attempts to target NCIS and likely you but they've all been stopped."

"What?" Tony moved forward and leaned on Jardine's desk, "how many attempts? When? And why weren't we informed?"

"I don't know why you guys weren't clued in," Jardine shook her head, "but there are eight reports ranging from bodies found on ships to courier interceptions to a small plane crash that are all tagged with Hakari's name and the target is _NCIS Agent_ and since we know your connection to him I think we can safely assume that's you. There is another name in these files but it's been redacted."

"Why the hell wouldn't DOD clue me in?" Tony growled as he straightened.

"There seems to be an intelligence source around Hakari reporting to DOD," Jardine continued, "I don't know why you guys weren't made aware of this before now. All these files have been tagged to the DOD's J-SOC department. I can only see the redacted versions."

"Joint special operations command? Why didn't they share and who's the source?" Tony asked.

"I have no idea," Jardine shook her head, "I can't even see the main file. It's a black op. When I see files like this I know. That information is buried in DOD's deepest pit. But whoever it is...they're definitely your guardian angel. That could be why you weren't read in. If they have an operative in a sensitive position they won't share Intel with non-military unless absolutely necessary. So it could be they believed you were protected here in the US." Jardine took a breath and faced Tony fully, "Tony, you should let DOD know you are aware of this threat."

Tony nodded and held his emotions in check as bits and pieces of this information were starting to form and coalesce in his head. But he wasn't ready to deal with it yet and he had to keep himself steady, "what is the most current Intel you have on Hakari?"

"There's a report he is in Syria, in the old part of Aleppo. They actually have a pinpoint location," Jardine sounded surprised, "but there's nothing we can do. We aren't operating drone strikes in Syria right now. The politics are too messy. Tony you need-"

"Can you give me a print out of his location?" Tony asked as he hovered over her desk.

"Yeah, but why would you want it?" Jardine peered curiously at him.

"Between McGee and Abby," Tony offered a curt nod, "they may be able to find a way to track the SOB until we can find a better solution."

"Ahh," Jardine nodded, "Ok," she said hitting print, "but remember to clear everything through DOD. You don't want to step on whatever operative they have in the field. Whoever it is they're effective. And any action you take could put them in danger."

"We'll treat it carefully," Tony said as he took the printout. "Thanks, Jardine."

"Course," she nodded. "I'm heading out of town tonight. Family thing back home but let me know if you need anything else. Harrison will know how to contact me."

"Thanks," Tony shot her a smile before he left her office. He folded the printout neatly and slipped it into his coat pocket then headed out. He didn't want to go back to the bullpen, no. He needed a quiet place to think.

His mind was muddled as he made his way to the NCIS evidence sub garage, where he knew he could be alone for a few minutes, truly alone.

When he arrived at the garage, he entered and the lights came on. Tony released a breath, he felt like he had been holding since he left Jardine's office. He moved forward between the caged evidence holds and stopped in front of one of the chain link enclosures, "what the hell?" he whispered.

Hakari...there probably wasn't another person on the face of this earth that wanted to see Tony dead more than Nasim Hakari.

His mind raced as the information started to come together for him. He brought his hand up to his temple for a moment as he tried to see the bigger picture.

"Hakari was behind the Parsa attack on us," he said to no one. "That makes sense. Parsa had no real reason to target us otherwise. The attack on Gibbs in Iran. The sniper at my apartment...and the men who attacked Ziva in Israel."

Tony paced forward, tapped his hand on one of the chain link enclosures. "Ziva killed them. The bodies were in a pile." He tried hard to recall that scene. The one he'd only seen on a grainy video feed Adam had sent to MTAC. "Ziva..._Ziva_ would have kept one alive and wrung the information she wanted out of him before killing him. That is what Ziva would have done," he said as he gritted his teeth. He'd thought the same thing when he was searching for her but it hadn't led him anywhere then.

"If Ziva had discovered that they'd been hired by Parsa how much further did she have to dig to find the Hakari connection? I lost track of Ziva after the farmhouse for months. Her first stop had been Deena Bashan to get patched up and then she vanished." Tony swallowed hard, closed his eyes to steady his emotions, "It was more than four months before I found her. She'd visited Egypt, and her family homes. I thought she'd gone to Egypt just to visit the opera house but what if it was more than that?" he said to himself as he tried to pull back every detail of that time, "I was always five steps behind her until I figured out she was going to the grove house."

Tony recalled every clue, every lead that he'd followed to find Ziva.

"_Stop this for him,"_ he whispered. "That wasn't Gibbs was it?"

He remembered how surprised and even angry she was when he'd found her. "_You should not have come,"_ he repeated her words to himself.

She had walked away from him for a long while before she returned to offer her explanation for vanishing. She said she was the center of all this death...that she needed to do this alone? That she didn't want to talk, to keep in contact with anyone. That she just wanted to have time to deal with everything she'd been through and had done.

Everything Tony did, asking her to return with him, to forgive herself...she refused. They'd made love, they'd been close but Tony had felt her so far away even in his arms. And then came that horrible conversation about how she wanted to, needed to be alone. She pushed him away with everything she had in her.

But if he'd found out Hakari was behind Parsa then, if Tony had discovered Ziva knew...she had to make her movements believable. Ziva knew he'd come after her - that he'd never stop until he found her. "So what would she do? She'd build her lie."

"She was lying," Tony said as he clenched his jaw. "Her movements were by design. Part to investigate but mostly to throw me off the real scent, off her real reasons for not returning home."

"DAMNIT, ZIVA!" Tony yelled as he shook the chain link cage he leaned against. "You lied to me. You went to hunt Hakari! I know you did. I _know_ it, now."

Something inside Tony snapped and he stormed out of the garage and headed up to his desk. His mind focused on one thing; finding Ziva, again.

None of the team had returned. He pulled up the leave requests forms, filled them out and emailed them to Vance and HR. He typed a quick email to Gibbs and McGee telling them he needed some time on his own and set it to email in the morning. He then grabbed his pack and Ziva's necklace and headed home. He didn't stop to find McGee, he didn't want to go up to MTAC; he just did what he knew he had to.

Tony wouldn't stop and listen to Gibbs tell him he was wrong or on a fool's errand; that he had to move on with his life. There was no real life without Ziva. And while Gibbs could move on...Tony couldn't, not truly. So he took one last look at the squad room then rushed to the elevator. There was nothing here for him, not anymore, not without her.

Once home he wasted no time. He packed a bag and slipped a gun behind the suitcases protective lining. Ziva had clued him in on where to get this suitcase years ago. He opened his secret stash which he kept behind a panel under his jetted tub and pulled out the case hidden inside.

A passport with the name Michael Kaplan and his picture. Again, Ziva had insisted he get the passport in case they ever needed to keep low because of a case. McGee and Gibbs had them too. Tony smiled as he thought about the name. He'd wanted Kaplan because of the movie North by Northwest and Ziva had said that the name could pass as many nationalities, it was a good choice. She'd then commented on Tony's dust cropper ducking skills; he'd been rather impressed she knew the movie and promised to take her to Mount Rushmore one day.

"Ziva," he muttered, "why the hell didn't you tell me?"

Tony was as angry with himself as he was with her right now. He should have known, he should have seen the signs. But the pain in her eyes was real, it was palpable and it had fooled him. No, he hadn't been fooled...her pain was real it just wasn't related to what she told him. It was because she was walking away from everything she had fought to build for herself, walking away from what they could have...and she'd done it for him.

He took a deep breath and removed twenty-two grand from the case and five gold coins. He split the cash between his suitcase, wallet and carryon and slipped the coins into a pocket in the carryon. When he'd finished packing he went to talk to the neighbor about taking care of the fish and the apartment. He also wrote out a check for a year's worth of maintenance payments from his savings account, called the cable and shut it down, unplugged everything, including the fridge and moved enough money into his checking account to cover his automatic payments.

Tony checked his Will and left it where it would be easy to find on the desk. He was ready, the last thing he had to do was get the plane ticket. He ran down with his laptop, bought a prepaid credit card and loaded enough cash on it to pay for a plane ticket then went a few blocks up to a cafe with Wi-Fi and booked a ticket to Paris under Michael Kaplan's name.

He returned to the apartment, took Ziva's necklace out of his coat pocket, kissed it and left it on his dresser. Where he was going he knew it would be a liability.

After what felt like an eternity preparing to leave; Tony was on a train heading towards the airport.

He was leaving everything he knew behind...just like she had for him.

There was no doubt in his mind now_, stop this for him_, was about stopping Hakari for him. She'd lied to his face and pushed him away. She'd given him her necklace because it was all she had of herself to give him. She'd given up her entire life to do this... She did love him just as he loved her. "I'm on my way, Ziva."


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Hey gang... so HAPPY you liked chapter 1. I felt it was time for Tony to really get his mojo back! I told you chapter 2 would be up soon - 3&amp;4 are ready but I think I'll wait a bit before posting because it might be a bit before 5 is. **

**Now to clear some things up for people who haven't watched the show:**

**Bishop is the new agent on the team at Ziva's desk. She is former NSA and worked the Parsa case with the team. She eventually got invited by Gibbs to join the team - why, I will never know. I find her useless!**

**Zoe, is a dark haired, ATF agent, Tony was partnered with 20 years ago when they were both Philadelphia PD. Tony left without a word to her and they met up during a case earlier this year. On twitter we call her the Ziva clone tho Ziva is waaay better. Tony started a 'relationship' with her this season, few episodes back. I won't sicken you all with the details. The character name is Zoe Keats; if you want to see what she looks like google her. **

**The Hakari case Tony tells Jardine he worked is made up and not from the show. I think that was it.. any other questions feel free to ask!**

* * *

Paris then a train to Istanbul looking like an American businessman and then a bus on to Ankara looking more like a hippie traveler. At Ankara Tony managed a ride with some students headed to Hatay, one of the Turkish towns bordering Syria. He'd told them he was a journalist and endured hours of questions on everything from internet versus print to American tabloids and Kardasian's backside. Once they'd arrived in Hatay Tony discreetly parted from them and made his way to the more sketchy parts of Hatay to take care of a few things which cash could buy him.

The first was a note written in Arabic that explained the man carrying the note was mute and hard of hearing and another note explaining that he was looking for family. He'd had them written on old, torn paper so they'd look worn and shoved them in his pocket. The next was transport into Syria.

He'd met a few men who fit the type to provide transport without question. He gave the impression he was a Muslim believer and decided on one man who didn't care one way or another if he was Muslim, CIA or some jerk who bought the crap on the internet. The guy just wanted to get paid. This guy apparently went into Syria often, he knew routes, people and ways around the border guards.

Akar was his name and they'd agreed to meet at dawn in the market district. Tony was satisfied he'd get into Syria, from there he'd just have to track down his ninja. He had a rather unorthodox plan to get that done.

He returned to the less than stellar hotel he'd rented a room from for the night. He'd purchased a black backpack, flashlight and compass when in Ankara. He brought what maps he needed and most importantly, Hakari's last confirmed location. With luck, Hakari would still be there when he arrived.

Tony had also purchased the typical headscarves worn by men in the region and some clothes that would announce him as a refugee or Muslim. He emptied his suitcase, shoved his gun and holster into the backpack, packed a few waters and energy bars and the all important knife. And then finally felt satisfied he was as ready as he was going to get to enter Syria.

There were still several hours until dawn and Tony knew he had to get some sleep so he grabbed his gun and shoved it under the pillow and set his pack next to the bed before attempting to close his eyes.

He wasn't sure he could sleep, it had been thirty or so hours since he'd realized where Ziva was, what she had been up to since he last saw her. His nerves where on the surface but not because he feared what he was going to walk into but because he feared something may have happened to her. It had been too long since he'd been with her, since he'd held her. All this time he had bought her damn story about finding peace and a new start in life. He should have realized it then or at least long ago that his Ziva wouldn't have walked away like that and given up all she fought for, the family she forged in DC for nothing!

Tony berated himself, she'd done this for him, he knew that just as he knew his own name. The feelings between them couldn't be denied any longer. They shouldn't have been denied for so long to begin with. Why hadn't he grabbed her and held on so many times before Israel? Before now? He knew then just as he knows now that he couldn't live with her - he'd told her before, she should have listened.

Had it been fear of screwing it up? Had it been damn rule twelve? Had it been Ray or EJ or Eli's death? None of that should have stopped them! But they both thought there was time...when she pushed him away his heart shattered and never put itself back together. To find out she'd done this, given everything in her life and willing to give her life for him? It made him angry, angry and scared and needing her now more than air to breathe. The only thing keeping him sane was the idea of finding her again.

His skin was on fire with the anticipation of it, of seeing her and holding her. His heart pounded even as he tried to calm.

He wanted to leave now, wanted to make it to Aleppo as quickly as possible but he had to be smart and not get dead before he could find her. If he'd told Gibbs or McGee or any of them they would have done everything to stop him from doing this. _Nothing_ was going to stop him.

If he had to scour the entirety of Syria to find her he would. But he had one way to find her, one way he believed would work - it all rested on Hakari staying put until he arrived.

Surprisingly, Tony managed a few hours of sleep but he was up and ready long before dawn. He moved quickly and quietly to the market district and found Akar just where he'd said he'd be. It didn't take them long to get underway.

"I was a refugee from Aleppo," Akar said as he drove down the bumpy back roads. "I walked into Turkey two years ago now. This road is unguarded. We will drive off the road for a time before finding the Syrian roads but we should not have any problems with border guards. There are not enough of them to cover the legal crossings much less the improvised ones."

"You're English is pretty good, Akar," Tony commented.

"Movies," Akar smiled, "I enjoy them very much. And it helps with the tourists when I am driving in Istanbul or Ankara."

"Why are you here in Hatay?" Tony asked.

"I go into Syria often to bring back families or friends of people who pay me to get them," Akar stated. "It is more profitable than simply driving around foreigners."

"So this will be a profitable trip both ways, huh?" Tony leaned back in his seat.

"Oh yes," Akar grinned, "I do not often get people needing to return to Syria right now but from time to time there is a need. Tell me, Mister Tim, why must you get into Syria so badly? Many there would have your head severed on video."

"A woman, Akar," Tony replied, "why does a man do anything if not for a woman?"

Akar let out a belly laugh, "this is very true. I hope she is found quickly. You have my number if you need a fast return...which will cost of course."

"I wouldn't expect less, Akar," Tony nodded. "How far until we are close to Aleppo?"

"It is not far from the border, a few hours with the way things are," Akar stated as he turned off-road and started driving on the hilly terrain.

Tony nodded and to his surprise he noticed a few other vehicles moving along the area in the distance. He looked around for navigations signs and made note of what he could, just in case.

It took them several hours, they passed some refugees walking towards Turkey and eventually made it back onto a proper road, if you could call it that. There had clearly been fighting in the area; burned out cars littered the road, spent shells and damaged buildings in the background. Strangely, they drove past the remnants of war through a fortified and undamaged and populated area. Akar told him it was under Assad's control but that it might not stay like this for long. They were on the outskirts of Aleppo now and Aleppo was still suffering from attacks, some districts were under Assad's control while others were under the opposition or the Islamic State. Akar seem to know the guards and was waved through quickly and without question.

"The old Aleppo district is very dangerous," Akar started, "if you need me to drive you into it that will be extra."

"No," Tony shook his head. "I just need a landmark outside the old district and I should be fine."

Akar nodded and in minutes they were pulling to a stop near one of the old Assad government buildings. "We are officially out of Assad territory. This entire area is under ISIS control. You would do well to keep a scarf around your face." Akar pulled out a white and red scarf and handed it to Tony, "Here, no charge."

Tony took the offered scarf, "Thanks." He then pulled out the agreed upon sum from his pack's front pocket and handed it to Akar.

"I hope you find your woman," Akar said as he took the money and Tony opened the car door. "Stay to the shadows and out of sight. Only talk to older people and, well, good luck."

"Thanks, Akar," Tony shook his hand, "get back safe."

With that, Tony slammed the SUV's door and glanced around. He didn't want Akar to follow him just in case he was asked about the man he dropped off. He spotted a forked street ahead, rushed off in that direction and vanished from Akar's sight by crossing through a bombed out building. Tony dropped Akar's red and white scarf and removed a blue and white one from his pack along with a new shirt. He changed into the new shirt and wrapped the scarf around his head.

It was mid-afternoon now, the drive had taken an eternity for being so close to Hatay. Tony moved quickly between buildings, he was awed for a moment by the sheer destruction he was seeing. Most of the buildings had to have been hit by the barrel bombs Assad's regime employed. They look like they'd been hollowed out in some cases. He slipped past a collapsed doorframe into a vacant storefront.

There was nothing left in the store, just some overturned and empty shelves and a few bits of clothing and mangled mannequins. He moved to the back of the shop and pulled out his map.

The building Akar had left him in front of was visible on the map and he saw the forked road he'd used. Tony figured out exactly where he was on the map and then pulled out the printout with Hakari's location. He was maybe eight or nine blocks away.

Tony memorized the route and stowed his maps and just as he was about to exit the shop he heard some men talking just outside. He peered through the cracks in the walls and saw that they were wearing the tell-tale black ISIS garb.

He wished he knew what they were saying but almost as soon as they had stopped to talk they continued walking. Tony glanced around and saw some people moving about, a few older folks and some women but the streets were relatively bare.

As he made his way up the block he spotted a few more black-attired men and skirted their position. He moved into another bombed out building and came across a few rotted corpses and a small girl picking through the rubble. When she saw him she quickly ran off.

It took some dodging and climbing but Tony finally made it to the site Hakari reportedly occupied. He moved into the shadow of a building across from the Hakari site.

There were a few men smoking to one side of the building with AK-47s and men inside the walled courtyard of the building. A black gate seemed to serve as the only entrance from this side of the street. The building seemed to have once been an official building of some type but Tony didn't understand the words on the plaque outside.

Tony looked up and around at the surrounding buildings. Most had been bombed and were cut in half, the insides on display like some weird dollhouse. A few remained intact and clearly had some life in them, as clothlines with what looked like fresh laundry hung on some.

"Where are you, Ziva?" he whispered to himself, "You'd want a clear view of this."

Tony peered carefully at the different buildings but couldn't make out which Ziva would choose. He gave himself one quick nod and moved out of the shadows and across the street to stand in front of Hakari's building.

He stood by the wall where those inside the gate couldn't see him and those smoking were around the corner on the opposite side of him. Tony looked up at the buildings and with a deep breath and undeniable faith that he was right about Ziva; he unwrapped his headscarf and looked up then turned around several times trying to let anyone who was watching see his face.

"Come on, Ziva," he muttered, "find this handsome American face before some ISIS dude lops my head off...my ninja, where are you?"

He felt like he stood on display for hours but it had to have been just a few minutes, maybe ten, before Tony heard footsteps rushing in his direction. He quickly wrapped the scarf around his head then heard the gate open and two black-clad men emerge, rifles pointed at him.

Tony jumped and raised his hands as they shouted in Arabic. He made a gesture so they'd allow him to retrieve the note from his pocket. He hunched over and carefully pulled the note out, shakily handing it to one of the men.

The man read the note and showed it to the other then screamed back at Tony. He shoved the note into Tony's chest as Tony pulled out the other note and showed it to the man.

The man snatched it as Tony bent to pick up the one that had fallen to the ground. Before Tony was able to fully stand the second note was dropped and Tony grabbed that one too.

The man kept shouting aggressively then pointed his rifle at Tony, indicating for Tony to drop his backpack, something Tony was unwilling to do. Tony backed up as the second man reached for his scarf which caused the first man to shout louder and press the rifle to Tony's head.

Less than two hours in Aleppo and Tony was likely going to die. He looked up carefully, his mouth dry and his eyes scratchy. Tony raised his hands submissively, took a step back and then the air seemed to still as he heard another voice join the chorus of shouts.

_Her voice._

It was all he could do to stop himself from crying out to her, from breaking down right here in front of these thugs.

She ran across the street, dressed in a full black birka, shouting in Arabic at the men in front of him. He had no idea what she was saying but soon he felt her grab his arm and pull him away, push him behind her. He instinctually pulled her closer, not wanting her to be between him and the gun.

Ziva turned, quickly wrenched the notes from his hands and spread them out, clearly reading them quickly. She tossed one at one of the men and screamed again at them as she kept pulling him with her down from the sidewalk to the street and steps back. She waved her hands wildly at them men, screaming in Arabic the entire time; he might not understand her words but her gestures were clear as day.

They moved further back, soon they crossed the street to the black-clad men's angry, indignant shouts and then she turned and ran holding Tony's hand. A shot rang out as they moved into an alleyway. She just kept them moving forward.

When they'd crossed the alley, she turned back and he saw those eyes, her beautiful, mesmerizing_, _eyes stare at him in complete shock.

"Come on," she said in a strained whisper, "we have to keep moving. They may have thought you an idiot but they could come after us for fun."

She lead him through buildings and turned him around until they were behind a building he thought was diagonally across from Hakari's. She pulled him down an exterior set of steps and then pulled open some wooden shutters. "Use the cinder block to climb up, Tony. Get inside," she ordered.

Tony did as she asked and climbed in the window then turned and helped her in. Ziva closed the shutters behind her and latched them from the inside.

She then lead them across a hall to some concrete stairs and they started climbing. At the third floor the cement stairs where detached from each other and rebar snaked out from the jagged, concrete steps. Ziva lifted her skirt, exposing her pants underneath, held onto a dangling rebar bar and hoisted herself from the step they were on to the ones hanging precipitously in the air. She turned to help him but he simply followed her lead and joined her quickly on the upper steps.

Ziva nodded and continued up the stairs until they reached the seventh floor. There she moved a cinder block and pulled out a key, unlocked one of the apartment doors and took a breath before she led Tony inside to what appeared to be an apartment untouched by the destruction.

Tony shut the door and locked it as Ziva pulled off the birka she wore and turned to face him, shock still evident on her face, he heard her breath catch as she stared at him. She was a little thinner, a little more tanned and her hair was shorter, but she was still the most breathtaking woman he knew.

Ziva stared at him for a long moment, her head shook slightly, "How do you keep doing this?" she blurted as her eyes widened even further. "Tony, you cannot be here!"

He heard a crack in her voice.

"But I am here," he murmured as he dropped his pack, pulled off the scarf around his head, letting it fall too and stepped closer to her. Eyes locked with hers, drinking her in, almost unsure if she was truly here with him.

"And I know, Ziva," he said as he stepped closer to her, saw the confusion in her eyes. "I _know_ how much you love me."

Her lower lip trembled as her eyes registered what he'd said, "Tony," she took in a deep, hard breath. Her hand went to her chest as if she was making sure her heart was still beating, "they...they could have killed you!" She stepped right up to his face, drop her hand. "That was so incredibly stupid! They would have killed you! What if I had not seen you!"

"You came in time," he said calmly. "We're safe now."

"No," she shook her head, fisted her hands, "nothing is safe here, you are not safe here! You need to go home, Tony. We will get you out of here tonight somehow," she said with a voice cracking with emotion as she started to turn away from him, scrubbed her hand through her hair in frustration.

Tony grabbed her arms, turned her back to face him and held her still in front of him, "I. Am. home." He stared hard at her, held her gaze, wanting her to know he meant every word. "And I am not leaving," Tony brought a hand to her cheek, brushed away some wild strands from her eyes then slip the hand behind her neck.

"Never again," he said before he crashed his lips to hers and they kissed. A kiss that consumed them wholly. A kiss that echoed the longing, the pain, the need between them. They trembled in each other's arms and the kiss grew deeper as their uncontrolled emotions threatened to consume them.

When they parted breathless, Ziva broke as a whimper escaped her lips, tears fell from her eyes and she touched his face tenderly, "I was so scared, Tony," she whispered. "Seeing you there. Standing in front of Hakari's stronghold. I could hardly believe my own eyes. I could hardly move fast enough to get to you," she said through her tears.

Ziva pulled out of Tony's embrace, "But you cannot be here!" She insisted, "you cannot! I will call in for a transport," she nodded to herself as she roughly wiped away her tears. "We need to get you out of here-"

Tony grabbed her arm again before she could move further away from him, "I am not leaving, Ziva. Where you go, I go. This is not up for debate," he stated flatly, his tone brooked no argument.

"What the hell are you doing, Tony?" Ziva's eyes widened as she moved to fully face him, "this is not a place where someone like you can survive. You cannot speak the language, you look like a typical American and for a bonus you are a Federal Agent. There are numerous factions here that would love to get their hands on someone like you and embarrass the United States then kill you, graphically!"

"We will figure out how to stay safe," Tony assured, "and bonus, Hakari is across the street. Let's take him out and end this."

"It is not that simple, Tony," Ziva shook her head as she pushed Tony away, "Hakari is guarded by three dozen men. He is never out in the open so I cannot shoot him from this position. I cannot call in a drone and I cannot get close enough to seduce him," she said with a tilt of her head.

Tony grasped her waist and stiffened. "Ziva..." He knew she'd said that for effect and it worked. He hated the idea of her even thinking such a thing.

"Nothing here is pretty, Tony," she stated, her face a hard mask now, "You do not belong here."

Tony leaned his forehead on hers, felt the slight tremor in her body, sensed the emotions crashing through her, "I belong with you."

* * *

**Feed the Feedback monster, please!**


	3. Chapter 3

"Tony!" Ziva pushed away from him, "I did this to keep you safe!" her face was flush with anger but her eyes betrayed her.

"I know," Tony nodded. He did know, he knew exactly why she did this, why she went to such lengths but it didn't mean that she didn't hurt him in the process, hurt them both. "And I'm pretty pissed, Ziva. This was not your fight but mine," he hissed.

"You cannot fight this but I can and I have been," Ziva argued. "You need to go back to DC...how could Gibbs have let you come here?!"

"He has no idea where I am, Ziva," Tony shot back, "No one does."

"What the hell, Tony?" Ziva stared at him incredulously, shook her head, "You put yourself at risk for what?"

"Ziva!" he snapped.

"No, Tony!" she yelled back, paced away in frustration. "How could you have found out about this? Strict instruction was given to keep you and the team out of this!"

"I was completely in the dark until Jardine saw a few words in a redacted file that lead to me," Tony's jaw clenched, "if she hadn't called me in, shared what she knew, I would still be in the dark! That's not fair, Ziva!" he yelled at her, stepped into her again, "You lied to me at the grove house, you said everything you could to get me to leave you there! To the point where I thought you just...just didn't love me enough to let me help you! To let me in! But that's been a pattern with you hasn't it?"

Tony's anger was on the surface and he wasn't holding it back or containing it but it was also tempered with the knowledge of the sacrifice she had made for him.

"We had six nights together," he stared down at her, his stare unforgiving, "six nights were we talked, shared and made love and I thought you would give into me... but you pushed me away!"

"I had to," she shot back, "I was not going to allow Hakari to target you! I was not going to allow some terrorist to end your life when I knew I could do something to stop it!"

"Stop this for him?" Tony released a breath, took hold of her waist and leaned his forehead on hers, "Ziva, I love you. You should have trusted me," he said through cracks in his voice. "I love you."

"I know," she whispered, "that was clear when you found me," she took a ragged breath, "in Israel."

Tony felt the tears escape her eyes and suddenly realized some had escaped his too, "I have been in love with you for a very long time. You are the only thing that matters in my life. Without you, there is nothing."

Ziva gasped in her tears and pulled back. She placed her hands on his face and wiped away a few of his tears with her fingers, "You almost broke me at the grove house," she whispered, "but I stayed strong because I knew then as I know now...you cannot be here if you are to live!"

"Well I am not going anywhere," Tony practically growled, "if you take off on me then I'll just conduct my own mission to get Hakari all by myself!"

"Tony," Ziva gritted her teeth, "I left everything I knew...I left..I left the man I love after he _finally_ admitted it to me in his own stupid way! I am not going to let you get killed!"

"Then we better play this right," Tony stared her down, "because I am not backing down until Hakari is dead and you are home! With me!"

"I can have them come and get you," Ziva threatened, her chin held high, "They will take you back to the states where you will be safe. Where you need to be!"

"Then they'll release me and I'll turn around and come back," Tony promised, "and next time you might not be there when I find Hakari. Would you rather have me next to you or running amuck in Syria?"

Ziva's eyes widened again as she stared at him, incredulous, her head tilting as she looked at him, "You _would_ do something so stupid...again!"

"I sure as hell would," he replied instantly.

Ziva paced away from him, her hand coming to her temple as if she was having a hard time processing everything. He watched her as she stepped up to a wide daybed that didn't fit with the other furniture in the room. He took his first real look around and saw that they were in the living room of this apartment; her surveillance equipment and rifle by one of the windows with a single chair. The sofa was pushed back and she'd clearly dragged the daybed out here to stay as close to the window as possible at all times. The small kitchen and dining area were just off this room and there was a hall that went deeper into the apartment.

He didn't much care what was down the hall as his eyes focused on Ziva. He approached her and she turned to face him, her eyes were glassy, distant.

"I thought," she muttered, "I thought I would die during this mission. I even had a cover story ready for when it happened. They were supposed to tell you and the others that I had been in a refugee camp in Lebanon working as an aid worker and I died in a stupid car accident. I knew if it was an accident you wouldn't come looking for a bad guy. You would accept it and move on."

"You're not going to die, Ziva," he said as he brought one hand to her face as the other took hold of her waist, "I'm not going to die. We're too stubborn for that. We're going to find a way to end Hakari and..." Tony's voice broke, ...and we're going to have a life together. A long, crazy beautiful life. The one that should have started years ago."

Ziva brought her hands to his face and looked at him. Was he real? Was this really happening or was she having a dream. A dream like she'd had many times where he was here with her or she was with him but they were together and safe. How many times did she wake up from those dreams only to realize none of it was real? Her eyes searched his face, waited for him to fade away, but he didn't. She could feel his breath on her cheek, his hands on her body.

She felt her own body tremble as she stared into his green eyes, and gasped as she truly understood he was in her arms. Her mind was jumbled, she could not think of anything else to say, any other way to push him away. He was here and he was staying and everything she had inside her broke.

They kissed, she didn't know who started the kiss, maybe she did, maybe he did, it did not matter. They were kissing and it was uncontrollable. Their hands moved over each other, they pulled at clothes, kicked off shoes, ached for their skin to touch, ached for each other. She kissed his neck, he kissed her shoulder. His hands pulled her body into his and she kissed his lips, and they fell back onto the bed. Their bodies intertwined, their breaths catching as they really saw each other, truly understood they were together and nothing was between them anymore.

The made love, it wasn't frantic but it wasn't slow it was full of need, desire and a longing they couldn't sate. But most of all it was full of raw, unrestrained love.

Ziva kissed his eyes, he kissed her breast. She whimpered when he entered her and shook when he brought her to the edge and took her beyond. He possessed her completely and she wanted him to. He chanted her name when he climaxed and then kept her in his arms, kept her close, would not let her go as the sun vanished and the room moved into darkness.

Ziva was unaware of how long they just stayed there, burrowed into each other, unwilling and probably unable to let go.

It was Tony who broke the comfortable silence between them, which had been filled with just the sound of their breathing and their heartbeats. All the noise from outside had been lost to them.

"I missed you so much it physically hurt," Tony whispered as his fingers ran up and down her arm.

A single tear rushed down Ziva's cheek as she craned her head to better look into his eyes, "I thought I would never see you again," she swallowed, cleared her throat, "I missed you too," she said with an unsteady voice then a small chuckle escaped her lips, "I have the worst food when I am back at base because of you," she smiled up at him. I eat hot dogs and hamburgers all the time because it makes me think..." she sighed softly.

"Does that mean that when we get home you won't always make me eat grass and turnips?" Tony teased.

"I probably will," she smiled, "I want you to live a long, long time, DiNozzo."

"I can deal with that," he said as he bent and kissed her. When he pulled back he bent again to kiss her nose, and then just over her eye. "Base huh? You re-up with Mossad for this?"

Ziva blinked then pushed herself up to sit next to Tony. "You do not know? Do you? No, I guess you would not."

Tony licked his lips then sat up against the pillows behind him, "know what, Ziva?" he asked pointedly.

Ziva swallowed again and thought about leaving the bed, "I am not Mossad again, Tony."

He peered at her, "Have you been doing this on your own? As some asset for CIA or one of the intelligence divisions? You know those sons of... they never protect their assets as they should. Ziva, what don't I know?"

"Tony," Ziva hesitated then took a breath, "I am NCIS."

It took Tony a moment to understand what she was saying and then he straightened on the bed, "What? Are you telling me Vance knew about this? Gibbs?" he growled at her.

"No, no! They do not know anything, I promise," Ziva assured. "I went to the new SecNav with this and she and I have been working together since. I am NCIS Special Operations reporting directly to her and DOD. Vance was cut out of the loop because I was afraid he would tell you."

"Jardine told me about some operative in the field protecting me," Tony took her hand in his, "at first I thought it was you but it made no sense. That operative was working with J-SOC. That operative is responsible for...I should have known."

Ziva smiled weakly at him, "When I am not in the field like this, I work with a SEAL team at a DOD base in Iraq. I come in country to gather Intel alone because I can move more easily than any of them. I have liaised with Mossad, ironically, but I work for the US. I am still an NCIS agent and you were lucky I was here to see you, you idiot! I am not always watching Hakari. I have to hunt down others too."

"You're still NCIS..." Tony shook his head, "well at least one of us still is."

"Tony," Ziva squeezed his hand, "do not worry. I have some pull," she smiled, "it would be best for you to stay at the base, I can arrange that with SecNav and I can be with you there. We will only be apart when I have to track down Intel in this manner and-"

"NO," Tony interrupted her with his emphatic response. "Where you go, I go. No arguments."

"Tony," Ziva placed her hand on his arm, "you do not know the language. If something happens.. you could get caught by these people...these monsters."

"Then teach me," Tony gave her a quick nod, "I know a few phrases in Arabic. Teach me enough to get by, to fool them."

Ziva sighed, "It is not so easy, Tony."

"I know," Tony slipped his hand around her waist and pulled her even closer, "I don't care. We're not going to be apart. Not one more day."

Ziva rested her head on his shoulder, "you scare me," she whispered.

"I'll learn, sweetcheeks," he kissed her softly, "I promise. Now sleep. We'll figure it all out in the morning."

He felt her tense but she nodded and didn't press any further. He knew she was worried and he knew he'd still have more convincing to do but this time nothing in the world was going to make him walk away again.

* * *

"I'm pretty sure it's the middle of the night," Tony whispered in the darkness, "but I could be wrong, jetlag and all…why are you awake?"

Ziva glanced up at him as she ran her fingers through his chest hair, "how did you know I was awake?"

"I still know my ninja," Tony kissed the top of her head as one hand settled on her bare hip.

"I am thinking," she admitted.

"About my exceptional skills in bed?" Tony reached over and kissed her deeply for several long moments. "Or my winning smile?"

"About how crazy you are," Ziva released a heavy breath, "I still cannot believe you are here or that you did what you did!"

"Stop thinking of ways to get rid of me," Tony warned.

"This-"

"You confused me, Ziva, in Israel," Tony interrupted whatever she was about to say, "I knew I was in love with you and I saw how you felt about me but you still asked me to leave. I couldn't understand it," he shook his head at her. "We're frick and frack, we're partners who have had each other's backs for years and we finally gave into our feelings but it didn't last…_you_ wouldn't let it last. That hurt, Ziva. More than I can say…"

Tony took a breath, steadied his voice, "but what hurt more was knowing you did this alone. After I left I was in a fog. I wanted you home so bad and I couldn't reach you. When I found all this out, what you really did; when I realized you pushed me away not because you didn't love me but because you loved me so much you were willing to give everything up, including your life for this…Well, do you blame me for not stopping and coming right here? Would you have done anything different?"

Ziva wanted to tell him he was ridiculous, wanted to say he should have stayed away and gone on with his life but she was defeated and she knew it. "No, I would have gone straight to you."

"Then you can't blame me, can you?" he challenged.

"I guess I cannot," she kissed his temple.

"Do not ever do something like this again," Tony turned in bed to stare at her, "we're partners in all ways. I am not going to let you push me away like that ever again…not ever. I can be just as stubborn as you, David."

"I know," Ziva sighed.

"Remember, as long as we're together," he kissed her lips softly, "it'll be fine."

"What if it is not, Tony?" Ziva sat up, the thin sheet falling to her waist, "have you considered that? What if you are captured? Or Hakari sees you? Or I die and you are left out here alone?! This is not DC, you cannot just go to the corner bar and drink your pain away. This is the middle of a warzone where the players are all thirsty for blood…any and all blood!"

Ziva buried her face in her hands as her emotions got the better of her. The worse possible outcomes to Tony being here with her running through her head.

"Ziva," Tony placed his hand on her shoulder.

"No," she moved away and got out of the bed. She bent down and grabbed the blouse she wore earlier and slipped into it. "I did give everything up, Tony. I walked away from you, I walked away from my life in DC, the team, everything so I could protect you! If you are here, as much as I want you, you are not safe!"

Tony grabbed his boxers, pulled them on and went to stand in front of her, "How safe were we in DC? I seem to recall bombs, gunshots, car crashes and a pretty vast array of killers out for our blood?"

"It is not the same, Tony," Ziva snapped, "there you have Gibbs and McGee and a whole agency watching your back!"

"And now I have you," Tony shot back, "and you have me. Just like back in DC. This might be a different venue but it's still the same game. Stay alive and get the bad guys. You never doubted me before, why are you doubting me now? He stood toe to toe with her in challenge.

"I know how good you are, Tony," Ziva softened, "but this place…"

"It's going to work, Ziva," he pulled her into his arms, "trust in us, please. We're badass."

Ziva half cried, half chuckled as she shook her head, "I love you," she cried, "and I am scared for what might happen. Tony, please, let me do this alone?"

"No," he shook his head, "not without me. This is much more my fight than yours, Ziva. And I am not talking about Hakari… I'm talking about fighting for the woman I love! I don't want to be without you anymore. That is a fate I can't handle. Tried it, it sucked. If I go back without you again I'll just get killed anyway because my head won't be in that game but here with you."

Ziva's eyes misted over, "Tony-"

"I'm not going anywhere, Ziva," he cut her off, "I will stay here one way or another, even if it does mean going after Hakari myself just so I can get you home!"

Ziva walked into his chest, "fine, we stay together," she murmured and knew without doubt that Tony meant every word. It was too late, he knew everything and he would not back off. "But you do exactly as I say? Got it?"

"Going all BDSM on me, eh ninja?" he quipped and it helped diffuse the tension between them. He saw her lips curls in a slight smile.

"BDwho? Tony make sense," she said as she pulled away and went back to the bed, dropping her blouse in the process, "besides, I told you I was not into bondage," she said as she turned her head slightly back towards him.

"Yeah," Tony joined her, "that stuff is not really fun. This," he kissed her neck from behind and slide his hand over her belly, "is so much more fun."


	4. Chapter 4

Ziva pretended she'd fallen asleep, waited to hear Tony's light sigh; it was his tell that he'd truly fallen asleep. She'd figured it out long before they were lovers and now she simply knew it instinctually, even after all the time apart.

She opened her eyes, tried to focus on him, on his features in the near blackness of the room; the only light coming through the sliver of window that was left uncovered by the blackout curtains. He'd wrapped her in his arms and she felt loved, felt her heart swell when he tighten them about her each time she moved. And her love for him was on the surface, uncontrolled. How she'd missed him, how she hurt each and every time she thought of their last days together.

How hard it had been, how painful it was to see him board that plane...to let him go without telling him why she was really staying, why she pushed him away. Without knowing if she'd ever see him again. But she'd done it for him, to stop the real threat against his life and she was willing to give everything, including her own life to see he was safe.

What had he been thinking? Coming here? Ziva wanted to ship him back in bubble wrap; send him home where he would be away from these creatures she was hunting. These people weren't human, they were demons bent on killing, raping and destroying all they could. And now Tony was here in their line of sight.

_This idiot_, he would come back if she sent him away. He would find some clever way to evade and dodge even the SEAL team just to prove his point. She knew he was good, just as good, better than most she'd worked with out here. But this is so incredibly dangerous and he is Hakari's target..._God how is this going to work? How can I keep him safe and with me?_

Tears streamed down her face as her heart raced thinking of all the ways this could go wrong, he could be hurt, killed. Ziva raised her hand over his chest, brought it closer to his face...

_Please God_, she begged in prayer, _keep him unharmed, shield him, let us fight this monster that wants him dead and defeat him. If any price must be paid.. please let me pay it. Please, protect him!_

She lowered her hand to his chest, felt his heartbeat steady against her own racing one. She rested her head on his shoulder, his arms tightening about her further. "I love you, Tony," she breathed, "beyond words, beyond expression. I would pay any price to have you live."

Ziva closed her eyes but sleep would not find her tonight.

* * *

_"Ziva!" _

Tony startled awake as a series of gunshots echoed around him. "Ziva!" he called as he felt her side of the bed empty. He bolted out of bed, snatched his boxers up before pulling them on.

She wasn't next to him, his eyes scanned the apartment but she was nowhere to be seen. The sun filled the place with light, causing him to blink, get his bearings. More gunshots sounded outside; he reached for his gun intent on finding her no matter where she had gone.

He turned as Ziva rushed up to him from the hall, "Tony," she huffed as her own gun was drawn and she scanned for intruders. "Are you all right?" She said releasing a breath when she found no one but him. She lowered her gun, stepped up to him as her eyes ran over his face.

Tony pulled her into his arms forcefully, "where were you?"

"I was just in the bathroom freshening up, Tony," she assured as she patted his chest.

"I heard shots," he said, pulling back to look at her, make sure she was in one piece.

"They shoot around here all the time," Ziva said as she stepped from his arms to put her gun on the table by the bed. "You will get used to it."

Tony nodded, released his own breath and put his own gun next to hers, "I had a McScaredy moment I guess," he commented as he slipped his arms around her waist, "I don't like waking up and not knowing where you are...I never did."

"It is OK," Ziva smiled as she brushed her fingers through his hair, "this is all very different from the cases we have worked before."

"I'm fine," he pecked her lips, "and you're not going to convince me to go anywhere." Tony sat on the edge of the bed and pulled her onto his lap, "except maybe back to bed with you," he muttered before giving her a proper morning kiss.

"No back to bed," she pecked his lips this time, ran her thumb over them,"if you are staying with me then we have alot of work to do."

"In a minute," Tony said just before pulling her into a embrace. He held her for long, long moments and felt her kiss his neck, rub his back.

"You drive me crazy, DiNozzo," Ziva blurted with a cracked voice.

"You drove me crazy a long time ago, David, it started somewhere around _are you having phone sex_," he released her from the embrace and gazed into her glistening eyes before kissing her.

"You remember that?" Ziva sounded surprised as she pulled from the kiss to look at him.

"I remember everything," Tony declared.

"Right now you need to remember we have work to do," she playfully scolded as she rubbed his cheek with her fingers.

Sighing, Tony nodded and stood with Ziva, "so where is this bathroom you emerged from and do we have water?"

"We have water," Ziva nodded, "that is why I picked this place. The water tower on this side of the building still works and draws up from the city line but it is only cold water there is no electricity."

"No amount of cold showers is going to cool me down, Ziva," Tony kissed her neck, her lips before he begrudgingly pulled away from her, "I'll wash up and then we can get to work."

Ziva took his hand and pulled him with her down the hall to show him the bathroom, "try and stay out of the window's line of sight. I don't want a stray bullet giving you a haircut and do not shave, Tony."

"I didn't intend to," Tony caught the worry in Ziva's eyes and stopped her before she stepped away, "It'll be OK. I'll pass and we'll finish this."

Ziva gave him a quick nod, "We will. I will make something for breakfast."

"Without a stove?" Tony peered at her.

"I have my ways," she winked before leaving him alone in the bathroom.

Tony freshened up, took a very quick shower and hand washed his boxers. Ziva had brought his bag and he fished out a change of clothes. All the clothes he brought would blend in here; today he decided on a green T-shirt and khaki pants. When he made it back to the kitchen area he noticed Ziva was wearing slim black cargos and a white blouse. She was over the stove cooking eggs and he smirked when he noticed a propane tank rigged up to the stove.

Tony came up behind her as she added peppers to an omelet and slipped his hands around her waist, "you cut your hair."

Ziva offered Tony a slice of raw green pepper; he ate it sloppily from her fingers. "I had to."

"Had to?" he pushed as he swallowed the pepper practically whole.

"Boat, explosion, part of my hair was burned off," Ziva nodded. "It looked ridiculous all lopsided so I just cut it."

A lump formed in Tony's throat, "did you get hurt?"

"No," Ziva turned in his arms, "just my hair. I jumped in the water and everything was fine. Now hand me that plate, please."

Tony grabbed the plate in question and Ziva slipped a very large omelet out of a skillet and onto the plate then turned off the stove.

"We are sharing, DiNozzo," Ziva warned, "so do not think that is all for you."

"I'll share anything with you," he said purposefully as he gazed into her eyes. Tony blinked as he saw Ziva's face blanche, she then buried her face in his chest. He put the plate down on the tiny counter and held her as he felt her tense in his arms. "What is it?" he asked running his hands up and down her back, trying to comfort her.

"I am scared, Tony," Ziva said softly, "this is not a place for you."

Tony cradled her head against his chest, "Now who is having a McScaredy moment?"

"Tony," she pulled back, "I am serious."

"I know," Tony held her arms, "but all we can do is our best. Besides.." he cleared his throat then said in Arabic, "_You are my woman and in this house the man protects_."

Ziva blinked, "that was pretty good, Tony. I do not agree with a word you said but your Arabic was not bad."

He smirked, "studied a bit on the plane, train and bus ride over," he grinned. "I only got a few phrases memorized but I've already started with the Arabic alphabet. Egyptian Arabic of course."

"Good, good," Ziva grinned weakly before grabbing the plate and sitting with Tony at the table. "We will continue that today and I will teach you a few more phrases that may come in handy."

Tony pulled his chair right next to hers, "OK Miss David," he said before turning her to face him and kissing her. "And afterwards can I have one of those naughty affairs with the teacher?" he winked.

Ziva touched his face, stared at him for a long moment, "I missed you," she said simply. And before he could respond or let himself tell her he had nothing without her; Ziva shoved a forkful of omelet in his mouth, "eat before it gets cold, Tony."

They finished breakfast, cleaned up the kitchen together like a couple and then Ziva pulled out her laptop. It was in a protective covering on the balcony. A solar-powered wonder McGee would probably kill for.

"You got all the good toys, eh, Miss Bond?" Tony teased but Ziva paid no attention; she went right to his new Arabic study.

"This is not an easy thing, Tony," she gestured towards the computer screen displaying his language lessons. "I know you want to stay with me. I know you feel responsible for this because I know you but you have to admit I am better suited for this work, Tony. Just like McGee is better suited to hack into the pentagon or something. Let me take you to the base. At the very least you can study there without fear of having to save your life by remembering the difference between _who and what_ in Arabic."

"Ziva," Tony took her hand, "we settled this last night. I am not leaving you and I am certainly not going to hold up at some cushy base while you are out here ducking bullets," he dragged her and her chair closer, "I can't be without you anymore. I can't."

"And I cannot lose you.." she breathed. "I fell in love with you, Tony..."

"When?" he asked with a small grin.

"When, what?" she blinked.

"When did you fall in love with this handsome face?" Tony rubbed the back of one of her hands.

"I do not know," she admitted, "over time...in spite of your childish behavior. Or...or maybe because of it."

"I'm insidious that way," he winked. "Now, enough fooling around Miss David. The lesson?" he asked as he pointed to the screen.

Ziva smiled and they started.

They spent several hours going over the culture and simple phrases Tony might have to use and Ziva continued with the Arabic alphabet. While he was going over the instructions onscreen for the eighth lesson of the day; Ziva went to the window to try and figure out what was going on across the street. She said not much seemed to be happening today.

When she left the window she came over and stood behind him. In Arabic she demanded, "what is your name?"

Tony craned his neck to see her and responded in Arabic, "I'm called, Kaplan."

Ziva shook her head, continued in Arabic, "No. You will need a new name," he understood. She went on to say more but he couldn't get it.

"I don't know what that second part was," he admitted.

"I said you will need a new name because Michael Kaplan is not typical in these parts," Ziva nodded then pulled a chair close to him and sat down. "I will have some papers made up for you though it is not necessary as many have abandoned their homes without their papers. But you will need a Syrian name…" Ziva took the laptop and did a quick search, "how about Marwan? One of the easier to pronounce names."

"Marwan works," Tony smiled at her.

"Marwan Abadi," Ziva gave him a quick nod, "that will be your new name."

"Marwan Abadi," Tony repeated, "I can handle that," he said before leaning over and kissing her.

Ziva shot him a small smile when he pulled back, "Ok, Tony, it is time," she said turning the laptop to face her more fully.

"Time? For bed?" He asked hopeful but he had heard the trepidation in her voice.

Ziva shook her head, "No, time to make this official…if you want it to be? You can still head home or to base?"

"I'm not leaving your side," Tony's tone left no room for argument, "don't ask me that again, Ziva."

"You are crazy, DiNozzo," Ziva stared at him, surveyed his face then kissed him lightly.

"Just madly, deeply, completely in love which looks a lot like crazy," he commented.

Ziva leaned her head on his for a moment then took a deep breath before she tapped the keys on the laptop . Tony saw a DOD seal come onscreen.

"Who are we talking to?" Tony asked.

"Just let me do the talking," Ziva said as she kept the laptop's camera on her and watched the screen change to reveal SecNav Sarah Porter.

"Madam Secretary," Ziva started as Porter stared back at her, "there has been a development."

"Are you alright, Ziva?" Porter asked quickly, concern lacing her tone.

"Yes, I am fine," responded Ziva.

"Then good evening to you too," Porter smiled. "What is it?"

"Yes, yes," Ziva grinned, "good evening. Well…"

"Ziva," Porter was clearly curious, "it is not like you to hesitate. Are you sure you are alright? Should I send someone to come and get you, now?"

"I am fine," Ziva nodded. She knew SecNav had developed a soft spot where she was concerned. "but I have a visitor."

Tony coughed.

Ziva rolled her eyes, "I meant a partner."

"What are you talking about, Ziva? Last I heard you were on your own. Did Liam leave base and join you?" Porter asked.

"No," Ziva wet her lips, "Agent DiNozzo is here."

Ziva stared at the screen as Sarah Porter raised an eyebrow and stared back, "Excuse me?"

Tony turned the laptop slightly and moved his chair closer to Ziva, "Madam Secretary, you look well," he smiled.

"Agent DiNozzo?" Porter blinked, readjusted in her chair, "how the hell?"

"Long story," Tony started, "involves planes, trains and eccentric cab drivers. Let's just say I found out about Hakari and put two and two together where Ziva is concerned. And before you order me back stateside; know I am not leaving. Fire me, disavow me, I don't care. I belong here with Ziva and-"

"Thank God," Porter let out a long breath and leaned back in her chair, relief clearly evident on her features.

"Madam Secretary!" Ziva blurted, "this is not-"

"Ziva wants to do all this alone," Porter interrupted Ziva, "she is our most valuable asset in the region right now but I don't simply see her as an asset. I see her as a friend and I have been very worried about her safety... as well as other things," Porter shared a meaningful look with Ziva. "At least with you there I know she won't take any more incredibly stupid, unnecessary risks," Porter threw her pointed stare. "But, I can hardly believe all of this. We went through great pains to shield you from this op? Where was the breach?"

"Madam Secretary has become like a hen mother to me," Ziva explained as her head tilted towards Tony.

"Den mother," corrected both Tony and Porter in unison.

"Yes, den mother," Ziva grinned, "She is overly worried about a field agent."

"Ziva…" Porter frowned.

"Thank you," Tony looked to SecNav, "Ziva is not one to put herself first. It's a pretty bad trait," he turned to look at Ziva.

"That trait has caused me many a sleepless night, Agent DiNozzo," Porter stated. "I want you to know; Ziva has been relentless in protecting you and your team. Do they all know about this? I need a full report."

Tony went on to explain the details of how he tracked Ziva down and that he did not clue any of the team in; only Jardine would have any inkling of what he might have done.

"I am going to move you to Special Operations, Agent DiNozzo, officially," Porter informed, "your team and Director Vance will be given a cover story. You are assigned to Ziva, not as her subordinate but as her protection detail."

"Madam Secretary!" Ziva protested. "That does not make sense," she argued.

"Ziva," Porter looked to her, "I have watched you risk your life on the slimmest leads just because you thought there could be a threat against Agent DiNozzo. I think it is beyond appropriate that he become your protection detail. Perhaps you will think before you leap now."

Tony smirked at Ziva.

"Now," Porter continued, "I am going to inform J-SOC of your new status Agent DiNozzo. Your pay, as Ziva's, will be placed in a special DOD account under your name. As far as anyone will know you were sent away on a special assignment."

"Understood, Ma'am," Tony nodded, "thank you," was all he could say at the moment.

Porter returned his nod with a smile. "Keep her safe. And perhaps it is better if the two of you work from base?" Porter gave a quick nod.

"I will let you know when we decide to return to base," Ziva stated.

After a final nod, Porter vanished from the screen.

Ziva rose from her seat and took a step towards the window.

"Risked your life on the slimmest leads?" Tony said as he too rose and followed her. "Care to clue me in on those risks?"

"No," Ziva glanced at him over her shoulder.

"Yeah," Tony stood and approached her, "ok, you don't say no to your protection detail. I need all the juicy tidbits in order to do my job properly. I am officially sanctioned now."

"I cannot believe she did that," Ziva muttered.

"She seemed genuinely relieved to see me here, Ziva," Tony pressed, "care to explain?"

Ziva glanced out the window, the sun was descending and she hadn't even realized where the time had gone. Her emotions were still a jumble. Tony had been here one day and everything was changing, had changed. Tony was part of this now and she had to make the right choices.

"Ziva?" Tony stepped closer to her, nudged her out of her reverie.

"I had no one to talk to about," she swallowed, wet her lips, "pushing you away except her. She understood and ...well she has grown to care about what happens to me. Which is not typical in this situation."

"I'm glad she cares," Tony acknowledged, "I'm glad someone was looking out for you."

Tony took a step away, inhaled deeply and was clearly trying to control his emotions.

"Tony?" Ziva looked to him, "are you all right?"

"No," Tony turned and grabbed her waist, pulled her close to him, "I hate this. I hate that you are out here on some black op period and worse that it was for me. After..." he swallowed, "after Somalia, all I ever wanted, all I ever begged God for was to see that you were safe and happy. I-"

"Tony," she brought her hands to his face, "that is the past. We are here and we must deal with now."

Everything else Tony was going to say died on his lips, he leaned his forehead against hers and held her. Held her, held her knowing he'd never, ever be able to let her go again.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I didn't reread this.. hope it works! Thought I'd better get something up sometime this century.. enjoy!**

* * *

"_What are you doing here_?!" Ziva screamed in Arabic.

"_This is my way home, brother. I live just a few streets away_." Tony responded in Arabic.

"That is very good, Tony," Ziva smiled as she moved closer to him, "four weeks and you have learned much."

Tony slipped his hand around her waist, "I have the best teacher," he said as he kissed her, "and while I probably can't hold a full conversation I should be able to pick up some important stuff."

"Yes, well," Ziva shimmed out of his hold and moved over to the table to set up the laptop, "I do not want you walking around without me. But should someone speak to you directly I believe you know enough to divert any suspicion."

"Ziva," Tony stared at her but she ignored him, "I didn't come all this way just to be arm candy."

"Arm candy?" she turned back to peer at him, "is that like a trophy wife?" she asked as she tilted her head at him.

"Not quite but close, anyway, I think it's best that we leave the option open for two prong missions," Tony argued.

Ziva shook her head, "I do not like it, Tony. What if Hakari has a picture of you? What if one of his men recognizes you?"

"I have a beard now and who would really think an American Federal agent would be snooping around Aleppo anyway?" Tony stepped closer to the table, rested his hand on the back of a chair as he faced her.

"Yes," Ziva narrowed her eyes at him, "that does sound crazy does it not?"

Tony couldn't help the grin, "I guess what a guy does for love is crazy then," he said as he pulled her close, nuzzled against her cheek.

Ziva ran her hands through his beard and rested her fingertips on his cheeks, "you drive me crazy, DiNozzo. But I want to play it safe for awhile longer. Either I go out alone or we stick together like McGee and his keyboard when you put super glue on it."

Tony chuckled, "All right, ninja."

Ziva kissed him lightly then turned in his arms to fiddle with the laptop.

"Another call to SecNav?" Tony asked as he watched her set up the satellite connection.

"No," Ziva shook her head, "I am contacting base. I am sure they are...concerned I have not spoken to them in four weeks. I hope SecNav made them aware of the new situation."

"Why wouldn't she?" Tony pulled out the chair next to the one Ziva was hovering over and took a seat.

"I often go out on Hakari reconnaissance trips but I have never been out this long without contact," Ziva explained, "SecNav does not often contact base unless I am there. DOD coordinates missions with the base's second and all is left as status quo."

"Wait," Tony touched her arm, "who is station chief there? Don't you have to report your whereabouts?"

Ziva blinked at Tony, "Did I not tell you?" Ziva smiled innocently at Tony but he wasn't fooled. "I am station chief, Tony," Ziva let out a breath as she straightened, "I am afraid I have been neglecting my duties to stay here with you and keep an eye on Hakari."

"Station chief?" Tony repeated, "Impressive, Ziva," he said with a proud smile. "And no you didn't tell me, you left that little detail out. Afraid I'd get upset that you became a team lead first?"

"Tony," Ziva bit her lip, "taking the position was a necessity. I-"

"Ziva," Tony touched her hand, "I am very proud of you. And I still get to boss you around because I'm your protection detail - so all is right with the world," he said with a nod and a wide grin.

She leaned over and kissed him, "never change, DiNozzo."

"Don't intend to," he winked.

Ziva cupped his cheek with her right hand, "I must contact them now. They will not be happy."

Tony gave a quick nod and Ziva took a seat in front of the laptop. He knew that she had kept this quiet so not to make him feel guilty for interrupting her mission but he didn't really care. The fact that she stayed with him was all that mattered.

The screen came to life and the first image Tony saw was that of an officer by the looks of his uniform, a Navy Commander.

"Liam," Ziva started.

"Finally you check in," he practically scolded, "Where the hell are you? You don't stay away this long!" He snapped clearly upset, "everyone here has been worried sick. Are you heading in?"

"I am not," Ziva pursed her lips, "and I do not report to you. What is the sitrep at base?"

Liam released a frustrated sigh, "No further southern enemy incursion but we have hot spots near the eastern Egyptian border and in Northern Iraq."

"Any overt activity from Al'shiem's group?" Ziva asked.

"Nothing overt but we have them in our line of sight," Liam grabbed some papers then narrowed his eyes at the screen, "who's there with you?"

Ziva glanced at Tony with a smile, "Agent DiNozzo," she responded succinctly.

Liam practically choked, "What?"

"Agent DiNozzo has joined me on this mission," Ziva did not seem overly eager to share, "now, has Karl's team reported in?"

"What a minute," Liam coughed, "since when does Agent DiNozzo have any idea of your location much less the authority to join you on a mission? When did this happen and-"

"Liam," Ziva interrupted, "the details do not matter. All that matters is that he is here now and has been authorized to join this team. Clear?"

"Ziva-"

"Clear?" she repeated tersely.

"Clear," Liam answered. "Ziva, we need you back at base; you've been away too long. Hank wants clearance to run a snatch and grab and Marcus is chomping at the bit to get in the field."

"None of that sounds urgent," Ziva blinked slowly, "now, tell Marcus to stop trying to eat through the 'bit' or I will have him chained in sublevel 3, have electrodes attached to him and call it interrogation desensitization."

"Yes," Liam's eyes widened, "I will make sure he is aware of that."

Tony grinned for his part.

"Hakari is preparing to move," Ziva glanced at Tony before returning her attention to Liam, "I made note of various trucks pulling into his compound today and that only happens when he is about to relocate. Agent DiNozzo and I will be following-"

"I'll get ready to join you with the full team," Liam announced, "We can be there by first light."

"Negative," Ziva stated, "an entire group of strangers filtering into this area overnight will be noticed. Agent DiNozzo and I will pursue. If opportunity arises to take out Hakari we will do it. Which means we will be in radio silence for another extended period of time."

"I don't like it!" Liam hissed, "Agent DiNozzo is a novice out here. He might be your _great love_, Ziva but he isn't ready to protect you out there! You need to send him to base and let me join you!"

"Hang on there a second, Liam," Tony moved further into the laptop's frame, "I've had Ziva's back for a hell of alot longer than you. She and I can handle this. _Step back,_" Tony finished the last in perfect Arabic. He could feel the other man's anger and wondered what'd happened between this Liam and Ziva.

"You're a soft Fed from DC, DiNozzo," Liam practically ridiculed, "I am a Navy Seal Commander - who do you think will have her back protected better out there?"

"Enough!" Ziva snapped, "I have made my decision, Liam. Follow through on the current assignments and maintain a holding position. Has Karl's team reported in?"

"Yes," Liam replied through gritted teeth, "mission successful. They arrived at base three nights ago."

"Good," Ziva nodded, "keep an eye on Al'shiem's group. I will contact when I can."

"Does Agent DiNozzo have a message for his girlfriend, Agent Keates?" Liam asked pointedly, a smirk on his face.

Ziva turned to Tony, her eyes wide, hurt, "I will give you some privacy if you want to relay a message, Tony."

"No," Tony put his hand on her knee then glared at Liam, "She is no longer my girlfriend. And how is that you've come to know of my personal relationships?"

"I make it my business to know all I can about people who affect my missions," Liam answered.

"Tony, do you want to send a message to anyone?" Ziva snapped.

"No," Tony answered.

"Liam," Ziva hit a few keys on the computer, "I have sent you the status report, file it with DOD. Agent DiNozzo and I will start radio silence in thirty-six hours. Should something important come up in that time you may contact me otherwise we are done until I report back." With that, Ziva shut off the link and closed the laptop.

She stood and walked away from the table, "I should go purchase something for dinner, Tony. I will return shortly," she said as she went to grab her headscarf.

Tony moved to her quickly and grabbed her arm, "Wait, we need to talk about this," he said as he turned her to face him.

"There is nothing to discuss, Tony," Ziva shrugged, "I did not expect you of all people to be a monk. And-"

"Ziva," Tony interrupted, "it was more than a year after I last saw you that I...that I started dating anyone. There was a one night thing and then there was Zoe Keates. I knew her back in my Philly days and...and well..."

"There is no need to explain, Tony," Ziva pulled from his arms.

"Yes," Tony grabbed her again, "there is. She's a federal agent with dark hair and an attitude. Her name is Zoe, for Christ's sake, Ziva!"

Ziva craned her neck to look up at him, "likes Gibbs with the redheads?" her voice was small and she hadn't meant it to be.

"Exactly like Gibbs and the redheads," He slipped his hands onto her waist, "I was lost. When I figured out what you were doing I left and didn't look back. Ziva," he moved a hand to her neck, caressed her cheek with his thumb, "you are the only thing that matters in my life. Until that Liam mentioned Zoe, I had forgotten about her."

"That is not very nice, Tony," Ziva murmured. "But..."

"But," Tony smirked, "You're glad I did?"

Ziva nodded.

Tony lifted her chin with two fingers, "I love you, Ziva David. I can't live without you and I wasn't living, just existing."

"You should not use Gibbs as a role model for such things," Ziva scolded lightly, "he may be a fine investigator but he is awful at personal life."

"Yes he is," Tony agreed, "And I should have ignored his lead years ago."

"Yes," Ziva playfully narrowed her eyes at him, "you should have." She reached up to kiss him but Tony held back.

"Wait a second," he forestalled the kiss to her confusion, "tell me about this Liam character?"

"What about him?" Ziva asked.

"He seemed rather intrusive with you," Tony scowled, "you two...?"

"Nothing ever happened between Liam and myself or anyone else since," Ziva swallowed hard, "since the grove house...until you found me four weeks ago."

Tony couldn't help the self satisfied feeling that coursed through him at that moment, "I want to say I am sorry you've been alone all this time..."

"But you are not," Ziva rolled her eyes, "you are so transparent." Ziva tugged his shirt and pulled him closer and into a kiss. "But," she muttered as they took a breath between kisses, "does not mean I was not asked."

"Any man would be a fool not to want you," Tony said just as he held her head and took another kiss. "too bad for them. You're finally mine," he kissed her neck, ran his hands over her bum.

Ziva ran her hands up his arms but then took a deep breath and pulled back, "we should get some food, Tony, before the few sellers close up for the day.

"We?" Tony raised an eyebrow.

"Yes," Ziva smirked," yes, you may accompany me."

They got ready, Ziva with her hair tucked in securely into the headscarf and Tony wearing his own, blue and white one. His beard had filled out nicely and he'd spent some time on the roof these last weeks getting a tan. He fit in more and more each day.

Tony greeted a few of the building's elderly residents who roamed the lower levels, bellow the break in the stairs and then they made their way out onto the street.

The day was hot and bright. He noticed that there were more black shirts out than he'd seen before and he didn't like it. Tony pulled Ziva to his side and they crossed the street, trying to stay out of view. The grocer they were going to was only a couple of blocks away, one of the few who managed to get fresh food into the area and some canned stuff. The majority of buildings were damaged but people still lived them, still walked the streets and rallied against both Assad and ISIS. Life still happened among all this destruction.

"He has more eggs today," Ziva said as she tugged Tony's arm and they entered the small shop that was once a hardware store.

"Never thought I'd see you so excited over eggs, ninja," Tony teased.

"They are protein and can be prepared so many different ways," Ziva defended, "and someone I know has an affinity for frittatas!"

"Well," Tony shrugged, "that is true," he admitted the point. "Oh look, tomatoes! We could make a sauce."

"Yes," Ziva nodded, "yes we could. And he has that stringy cheese...we could try to make a couple of tiny pizzas?"

"Pizza?" Tony wanted to slip his hand around her waist but remembered where they were. So instead he leaned in just a hair closer and whispered, "such sexy talk."

Ziva chuckled and took a few packets of the string cheese for her basket. They spent some time picking through the fruits to find respectable ones and then made their way to the merchant to pay. Tony took care of the merchant and bagged the groceries into the two canvas bags they'd brought as Ziva stepped outside to get a feel for the change on the street.

The merchant commented to Tony about the rise in black shirts and whispered that the fresher food he brings out in the late afternoon for his regulars. Tony was rather proud that he understood it all and responded well.

As he stepped out of the makeshift market he saw Ziva a few steps away, cornered by two black shirts. Her eyes were scanning the area but there were more ISIS men just up the block, at least another six, too many for them.

Tony didn't hesitate, he marched towards the men clearly interested in more than asking for directions from Ziva, and stepped between them and her.

"_This is my wife_," Tony spat in Arabic, "_do not speak with her_," he growled.

The men were startled and backed away, "_apologies, brother_," they said as they moved up the block.

Ziva's eyes widened before she took Tony's arm and they started back for the apartment. "Well done, Tony," she said as she squeezed his arm.

"I can't have you breaking out your ninja moves," Tony muttered, "the eggs would break," he winked at her.

"Well that worked, Tony," Ziva nodded, "but they are getting bolder. The people will not be safe in this area for much longer unless they join the Islamic state or return to Assad's territory."

"Why is Hakari moving if ISIS is getting a stronger foothold on this territory?" Tony asked in whisper.

"I do not know," Ziva replied as they crossed the street, "but his move may give us the opportunity we need. He will be more vulnerable in transit, exposed."

Tony offered a nod as they moved down the cement steps that led to the window entrance to the building Ziva preferred to use. He set down the bags, opened the shutters and helped Ziva up before passing the bags to her and then climbing in himself.

Once they were safely back in the apartment and Ziva was unpacking the groceries, Tony took a moment to peer through the scope and into Hakari's compound.

It was well fortified, a dozen or so men wandering the perimeter and more visible inside the building. Ziva had said she'd only caught few glimpses of Hakari that he spent most of his time in the middle of the building. Tony wondered what he was up to. It was one thing to have a bad guy lair and another to simply hide in your fortress.

"Does he know, Ziva?" Tony asked from his position at the window.

"Know what?" she turned to face him as she put the tomatoes in a bowl.

"Know he is being targeted by the Americans?" Tony set down the scope and moved towards her.

"Likely," Ziva admitted, "all of his attempts to target you have failed so he must know someone is watching. He had three of his men executed when I stopped his last courier."

"Maybe we can use that to our advantage," Tony shot her a cat who ate canary smile.

"What are you thinking, DiNozzo?" Ziva moved closer to him, suspicion in her stare.

"How much fun it would be to freak that son of a bitch out," Tony stated.

Ziva stepped up to Tony, placed her hands on his chest, "Did I miss you," she purred.

Tony slipped a hand into her hair and kissed her. Her tiny purr instantly aroused, clouded his brain with nothing but want. He pulled her blouse up over her head and tilted his head towards the bed, "this first, plan later."

Ziva stared up at him with those intoxicating eyes, "Oh yes..."

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Feedback - yes, please :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi guys! I know it's been a long time since an update and I'm sorry for that, but life has exhausted me these last weeks! Anyway here is chapter 6. I am going to try my best to do the next updates a bit faster but we are still going to have time between them. **

**Answer to a comment in feedback: Regarding Tony's like eye color. In Syria and Lebanon there is a healthy percentage of the population with light eyes and very fair skin. It is unique to those two countries. Historically speaking, those area were invaded by Caucasians on a number of occasions and the result has been that there are many Syrians and Lebanese with light eyes and fair skin. So Tony wouldn't truly stand out because of his light eyes. A prolong conversation in Arabic on the other hand would be problematic. **

**ok on to the story- and don't forget to feed the feedback monster! Thanks!**

* * *

He kissed her neck and there it was...the little sigh that escaped her lips whenever he kissed that sensitive spot just below her ear. If he had known this would be the reaction he'd always get from her he would have kissed her there long, long ago.

In these last weeks he felt alive again, whole again. The beautiful woman in his arms loved him as he loved her. And there was nothing better in this world than knowing Ziva David wanted him, needed him just as much as he needed her. They kissed as clothes were shed, as they moved to their small bed which had become his favorite place in the world.

Tony teased her as he helped her from her pants, watched her in all her beauty exposed just for him. He kissed up her leg to her belly button and continued north until their lips met again as they lay on the mattress.

"Tony," she whispered as her hands ran through his hair, "I love you."

He could not control the surge of emotion that coursed through him. He kissed her with every ounce of it, settled atop her, home. "Ziva," he paused, took a deep breath to rein himself in, "you are my life."

Tony cupped the back of her head as he saw her eyes glisten then dropped his lips to that sensitive spot on her neck and the sigh returned. When he entered her it was like nothing else, it never was with her. He'd known many women but this wasn't sex this was something beyond for him. Love yes, passion yes, but more...it was everything.

They enjoyed each other, they tangled for dominance, they went slow and fast and reveled in each other deeply until their releases could not be held back and exploded through them.

Tony held her close, kissed the top of her head as she rested on his chest. Ziva closed her eyes for a short while and he did as well but he was the first to wake to his surprise. He simply laid there, watching her, completely in love with her.

The incident outside the market surfaced in his mind and fear skittered through him. He'd managed to get the man bothering her to leave but these ISIS men were no joke. This could happen again, they could be placed in a situation where his declaration that she was his wife made no difference. So many things could happen after that... it chilled him to his very core.

He looked down and noticed a slight smile on Ziva's lips and knew she was awake. Tony kissed her forehead lightly, then over her eye, her ear, cheek until he reached her mouth.

"What a lovely way to wake up," she muttered as they pulled apart from the kiss.

"A service I offer," Tony commented, "better get your appointments scheduled. I book up quick."

"I better be your only appointment from now on," Ziva narrowed her eyes up at him.

"My one, only," Tony kissed her, "I'm going to have a tattoo reading property of Ziva put on my butt just for you."

Ziva laughed then looked at him seriously, "That is a very good idea."

Tony's eyes widened.

Ziva just smirked then asked, "A carrot you say, Tony?" Ziva moved up to a sitting position to Tony's chagrin.

"Carrot? Huh?" Tony frowned wanting her to stay in his arms.

"Yes," Ziva nodded, "you were saying about Hakari before we decided to have a bit of exercise."

"Right. Guess our exercise clouded my brain," he winked. "Yes, a big gold carrot," Tony replied as he too moved to a sitting position on the bed and pulled Ziva closer. "That is basically how I got him last time. I dangled something he wanted - back then it was a bomb maker. Now? He seems to have an affinity for looting from everything you've told me."

"Yes," Ziva nodded, her hand intertwined with his, "he has been looting significant sites at every opportunity."

"And he thinks the Americans are watching him?" Tony kissed her shoulder.

"So you are thinking we dangle this carrot and then destabilize him by making it appear the _Americans_ are on his heels?" Ziva considered the notion. She had truly missed Tony and his brain. She'd never meet anyone with such a knack for wiggling in and out of things. Tony was indeed masterful in so many ways, she thought with a slight blush. "It would force him to choose; flee or steel the carrot."

Tony nodded, "what do you think my ninja?"

"I think this could work but we would have to plan out the details precisely," Ziva said as she turned into his arms and kissed his neck, "every," she kissed the hollow of his collarbone, "detail," she kissed the side of his neck, "must be covered," she kissed down his chest.

"I like the way you demonstrate the point, Ziva," he grinned wide as his hand came to rest in her hair.

But they did not have time for more as the laptop started buzzing. "Now what," Tony scowled. "Does Liam want to check if I could keep you alive for a few hours?"

"Hush," Ziva said as she climbed over him and out of the bed. She grabbed her blouse, tossed Tony's shirt at him and moved to the table as she pulled the blouse over her head.

Ziva turned the laptop away from the view of the bed, opened it and answered the call, "Liam, what is it?"

"We have a situation," Liam started seriously, "Ambassador John Kellerman was abducted two hours ago from Hatay, Turkey. He was visiting a school and got snatched. You are the closest operative we have right now, Ziva."

"Kellerman? Wait," Ziva blinked, "has SecNav been informed?"

"Yes," Liam nodded, "she's on her way in from San Diego. She's worried."

"What Intel do we have on the abduction?" Ziva asked.

"I had to pry it out of CIA," Liam started as Ziva heard the beep that she had new email, "State has them organizing an op to get Kellerman back. They want you-"

"Tell CIA to stay out of it for now," Ziva stated as she opened the email Liam sent with the Intel on Kellerman. "I will contact them directly after I figure this out."

"I'm getting the team ready," Liam said, "we should be able to rendezvous in two hours."

"Hold," Ziva replied, "I told you I do not want to raise suspicions by having so many new faces suddenly appear here."

"You're going to need us-" Liam countered.

"I am," Ziva agreed, "but on my terms. I will contact you when I am ready to give instructions. Give me a short while, Liam."

Ziva cut the communication and scanned the Intel Liam had sent. Tony moved next to her and they watched the video of Kellerman's abduction outside an International School in Hatay.

"Bold," Tony shook his head, "broad daylight grab job. They took out his two security guards in less than a minute. He should have had more cover."

"Tony," Ziva pushed her hair away from her face, "Kellerman is SecNav's lover. We need to get him and we need to get him quickly."

Tony stiffened at the news and knew exactly how it was affecting Ziva; knew it only added to her stress level with him.

Ziva pulled up a map, "They must have followed the roads into Syria and are likely here in Aleppo. We are the closest stronghold for ISIS to Hatay. But we know Hakari and his contingent did not have anything to do with this abduction; there would have been much more activity across the street. It must have been another one of the faction leaders."

Ziva stood from the seat and started to pace, "Damnit," she looked back at the window over her shoulder, "Hakari is preparing to move but it could take him days to actually leave. With luck that will be enough time to find Kellerman. There is only one other faction leader in Aleppo who has the men and the temerity to take a US Ambassador, Amid Tahan. But Tahan would not keep Kellerman in Aleppo for very long. We're too close to the border, too close to Assad's territory. He would move them out and..." Ziva rushed back to the laptop and pulled up her files, files she'd created over this last year. "Raqqa, that is where Tahan has a large base of operations."

"Ziva, what are you thinking?" Tony asked as he pulled on his pants.

"It has been two hours or so since Kellerman was taken," Ziva turned to Tony, "it would take more than an hour from Hatay to here with the roads as they are. Kellerman may just have reached Aleppo and Tahan would want to see him before he was moved. Tahan's stronghold is not far."

"We may need Liam for this, Ziva," Tony pointed out.

"There is no time if we are to ascertain Kellerman's location. They all know satellites are watching," Ziva bit her lip then walked to Tony, "I can do this alone."

Those words hit Tony like a Mack truck. It took him back to another time he heard her tell the story of a mission she decided to do alone.

"You stay here and keep communication open between base and here," Ziva said as her hand rested on his chest.

"I am not staying behind," Tony grabbed her arm and stared down at her, "we do this together."

Ziva stepped away from Tony, grabbed a change of clothes and took a step towards the hall before turning back to him, "all right. Together," she said with a small smile before vanishing down the hall to the bathroom.

Tony quickly dressed, retrieved his gun and made sure to have extra clips on him. He then sat in front of the laptop and took a good look at the map Ziva had pulled up. She returned dressed with headscarf in place.

"We need to get our hands on a car, Ziva," Tony said the moment she reappeared.

"Got one," she answered before sitting next to Tony and pulling the laptop to her, "I am going to tell Liam the plan."

Tony nodded and prepared to hear a few insults.

Ziva got Liam onscreen, "I am sure you have assessed the probabilities, Liam."

"Yes," Liam clenched his jaw, his blue eyes reflecting the agitation he was feeling, "likely Tahan has Kellerman."

"Tony and I are going to monitor Tahan's stronghold. We will assess the situation as it develops," Ziva informed.

"And you are leaving right now without waiting on us?" Liam spat but the concern in his voice was evident. "Ziva, with Tahan's main base in Raqqa-"

"Yes," Ziva interrupted, "He is likely going there with Kellerman. I observed Tahan many times and he favors multiple transports. He takes one and he sends any cargo in one of usually five or six trucks that leave at spaced intervals."

"That's cause he knows the satellites are watching," Liam offered. "You need to let me get the team near Raqqa. We can coordinate from there and assist when you locate Kellerman."

"Agreed," Ziva said to Liam's clear relief, "I will be taking the sat-phone and tablet. Send me the GPS coordinates once you have established a position. Make sure we have a clear pathway back to base."

"Copy that," Liam nodded. "Ziva," he called before she could disconnect, "we need you back in one piece."

Ziva offered a slight smile, "copy that," and she disconnected.

"You really picked up Gibbs' bad communication habits," Tony smirked.

Ziva smirked back and moved to a side cabinet to retrieve a black bag, "Here," she said as she pulled something out, "silencer. We will need to be as quiet as possible, Tony."

Tony nodded and took the cylinder then watched as Ziva placed one in her cargo pants with extra clips and concealed a knife at her waist. She held the bag open and looked to him, "get some water bottles please and whatever you think will not spoil to take."

Tony proceeded to pack the supplies as Ziva sent an email before she stowed the laptop and took the phone and very small tablet and placed them in another backpack.

Within a short while they were ready to go. Ziva lead Tony out of the building and down several blocks where she spoke with an older man who vanished back into a building and a few minutes later drove a banged up car out from a narrow alleyway. Ziva thanked him and he disappeared again inside the building.

"You need to drive, Tony," Ziva groused. "The windows have a reflective coating but I would not want anyone to realize a woman was driving."

Tony offered a toothy grin for a moment before climbing into the driver's seat. Ziva directed them through the streets slowly and she told Tony to park the car near a few others that had seen much better days.

Tony was impressed, the exterior of the car looked like it had been through a war but it was clearly in good working order inside. They exited the car and he followed her through some alleys and pointed out a medical building across the way.

"That was once an active medical center, Tony but now Tahan has control of the building," Ziva explained. "The ambulance bays are where he keeps the trucks so we need to circle to the back of the block."

"There're alot of guys on the street, Ziva," Tony pointed out, "let's go up a few blocks then make our way back from the west."

Ziva nodded and followed Tony's lead. They avoided most of the black-clad men that way and found a good observation perch diagonal to the ambulance bay.

"What am I looking at here," Tony muttered as they saw a camouflage cover over most of the ambulance bay.

"Their way of trying to hide from the satellites," Ziva answered.

"Smart," Tony said as he looked through the binoculars while Ziva looked through the scope.

"Yes, it is," Ziva muttered, "they took a cue from our own security tactics. If they send multiple vehicles our satellites can't track them all. But I have watched Tahan's men for some time. While I was waiting for news on Hakari. Watched him both from satellite coverage and on ground surveillance. He favors a man named Latif. Latif has a pronounced scar on his right cheek. I believe if we can spot Latif we will have a good chance at identifying the truck carrying Kellerman."

Tony stared at Ziva for a long moment.

"What?" she asked as she lowered the scope and looked at him.

"Nothing...just that you're amazing," Tony said as he leaned back against the wall behind him.

"My investigative techniques were greatly improved because of you, Tony," she reached out and squeezed his hand. "And our team."

Tony squeezed her hand back and took a deep breath, "we have work to do," he answered with a nod. "Ok, a man with a scar on his right cheek. Not as obvious as the one armed man but it'll have to do."

"Oh no, Tony," Ziva glanced at him sideways for a moment, "do not give the-"

"Our fugitive has been on the run for ninety minutes," Tony did his best Tommy Lee Jones impression, "average foot speed is four miles per hour. That gives us a radius of six miles. What I need from each and every one of you is a hard target search of every gas station, residence, warehouse, farmhouse, henhouse, outhouse and dog house in the area."

"Fugitive has a name and it is Latif," Ziva finished as she continued to look through the scope.

"You remembered, ninja!" Tony exclaimed.

"How can I ever forget?" Ziva laughed.

They watched the activity in the ambulance for another hour then one truck left and Ziva sent a message to base to have the satellites follow it. A second and third truck left but no sign of Latif.

"I think our right-cheek scared man is exiting the building," Tony announced.

Ziva settled her scope on him, "That is him..." she trailed off as she got sight of another man, "damnit!"

"What?" Tony jumped.

"The man with Latif, his name is Mateen," she spat the name and narrowed her eyes, "he works for Al'sheim."

"I don't know who that is, Ziva," Tony shook his head.

"Al'sheim is likely the next big cheesehead of ISIS," Ziva started.

Tony could not love this woman more if he tried, "big cheese."

"Yes, yes," Ziva shrugged it off, "he is vicious, Tony. And if his man is here than he likely bought the ambassador from Tahan and is going to make a show of it to the US. We need to intercept before Ambassador Kellerman's head is mounted on a pike."

She went and grabbed the duffel bag, pulled out her rifle and started assembling it.

"You going to try and put a bullet in their heads now?" Tony was surprised, "that isn't a good plan, Ziva. They have too many men-"

"I am going to tag the truck, Tony," Ziva explained. She pulled out a clear bullet and showed it to Tony, "this is an isotope tracker similar to the stuff Abby used when we cornered Agent Lee."

"Got it," Tony nodded, "looks like you did get all the cool toys," he winked.

Ziva lined up her shot and waited to make sure Latif and Mateen were loading the right truck. She glimpsed the back of the truck opening and saw a blue suited man shoved into the back, she knew she was right. With precision, she fired her rifle, silencer in place, and tagged the truck perfectly through the gap in the camouflage cover. She then went about disassembling the rifle and stowing it.

"Road trip?" Tony asked as he gathered their stuff.

"Road trip," Ziva smiled even as a pit settled in her stomach.


	7. Chapter 7

Tony and Ziva had changed into typical garb as they followed the truck's signal. They knew they'd be driving through controlled roads and makeshift checkpoints. The good thing was that most Islamic state members didn't know each other.

Ziva had long ago acquired several of Hakari's 'passes.' The papers they cobbled together in different factions to identify ISIS members through the factions. It was a poorly organized movement but that did not make them less vicious. She'd dressed more like a man than a woman currently to lessen suspicion as they drove down some of the main roads.

They were driving down a secondary road that paralleled the road the truck was taking. Ziva had come to know these roads well and decided it was best to stay out of view as much as possible. She kept an eye on the trucks position with her tablet and had instructed Tony to cut through the village ahead in order to stay parallel.

"They really are everywhere," Tony muttered as he took the turn to head through the village.

"Like locusts, Tony," Ziva responded. "they have descended on this region like a plague. And the frustration is that we are not authorized to take broad action. We do occasional, covert drone strikes in Syria, there is more leeway in Iraq with them but without human, on the ground Intel en mass there is little hope of curtailing this movement. The various militia have only been effective to a point. The militia backed by Iran seems the most organized and that," she turned to him and shook her head, "is a frightening thought. Iran in control of Islamic State territory..."

Tony reached over and squeezed her hand, "Would be a serious threat to Israel."

Ziva nodded, "I do what I can to send Intel to Orli but I know Mossad is playing run up."

"God, I missed you," Tony grinned wide. "And the term is catch up, sweetheart."

"Catch up, yes," Ziva smirked but her attention was soon taken away from Tony as they drove into the village.

"What the hell are they doing," Tony asked as he was waved past a checkpoint and proceeded into the small town.

Women were lined up and tied together like the images he remembered from school of slaves before the Civil War.

"They are going to auction them off to the highest bidder, Tony," Ziva said through gritted teeth, "that is probably why they did not stop us at the checkpoint. I imagine many members will be coming to the village today."

"Ziva, some of them are not women.. there are just young girls," Tony could hardly believe his eyes, believe that this could so openly happen in this day and age.

"I know. Keep driving," Ziva swallowed, "there is nothing we can do. This scene is being repeated all over this region."

"God," Tony took a deep breath to calm himself. As he turned the corner the sight before them almost made him wretch. Bodies, dozens of them, men it seemed were piled on a side street. Some beheaded, some just impaled. "You hear about this but when you see it..."

"Tony, keep driving, please," Ziva asked softly.

He hadn't realized he'd slowed down and moved faster, needing to get out of this damn village, needing to get Ziva out of here. He felt this to his very core, she had been through so much and she threw herself into this... it was with perfect clarity that Tony understood Ziva had been prepared to endure anything to save him.

"We need to get back on the main road," Ziva stated as she looked at the tablet, "the sun is going down and if the truck makes any stops we might have a chance to ambush it."

Tony nodded and headed up towards the main road as Ziva directed. He'd been quiet for a long stretch as the settled a few miles behind the truck.

"Are you all right, Tony?" Ziva touched his thigh as she noticed his knuckles turn white as they held the steering wheel.

"Not really," he admitted.

"I know it is difficult to see such horrible things, Tony but-,"

"It wasn't that Ziva," Tony interrupted. "Well, that is part of it but.. but it's thinking that you were here dealing with all of this, with that kind of stuff...you left your comfy home, a job you loved to hunt Hakari. To..."

"I have no regrets, Tony," Ziva scooted closer to him, "none. You have given me more than I could dream of. I have had so much in so many ways because of you," she touched his cheek gently for a brief moment, "and our friends."

"You deserve all that and so much more, sweetheart," Tony kissed her temple quickly, "I do have regrets. Regrets that I listened for even a moment to rule twelve," he saw her smile at that and couldn't resist pulling her even closer as he drove. "Regrets that fear stopped me from admitting how much I needed you."

"Fear?" Ziva looked up at him with wide eyes.

"After Rivkin," Tony's eyes became glassy, "I just didn't know how I could tell you how I felt. I hurt you so much."

"We hurt each other," she murmured. "But," Ziva moved away from Tony, more to her side of the car. "If we are spotted cuddling they will ram our car and shoot us for being gay," she ended with a wry chuckle.

"I guess that would put a dampener on us getting the SecNav's honey back to her, huh?" Tony winked.

"Just a bit," Ziva agreed. She then picked up the tablet, "Damn."

"What is it? Did you lose the truck?" Tony turned to her for a moment.

"No," Ziva pursed her lips, "they pulled into a settlement up ahead. I know the place. There are too many men there."

"Do you think that's where they'll store Kellerman?"

"No," Ziva shook her head, "they probably won't even let him out of the truck. It's just a pit stop for the night. Al'sheim's group is still hours ahead. We will have to find a place to snuggle up for the night."

"Snuggle up," Tony tilted his head as he made a turn, "I like the sound of that."

"I thought you might," Ziva smiled to herself. "There seem to be some homes over there," she pointed to her right. "They are likely abandoned. We should be fine there for one night."

"We can park behind them and sleep in the car tonight," Tony suggested.

"I believe it will be too cold," Ziva scanned her tablet. "And we cannot waste fuel with the heater. The homes should have a firepit of some kind. That will suffice for one night."

"As you wish, sweetcheeks," Tony said as he drove up to a set of three small homes and parked the car behind them.

Ziva pulled her gun as she exited the car and Tony followed suit and locked the car up. They took opposite sides and check each room in the houses.

"All clear," Tony announced as he met Ziva in the middle house.

"All clear on my side too," she confirmed. "I thought these might be abandoned. Too close to that settlement. The owners either fled or were murdered."

"Let's hope they fled," Tony nodded as he stowed his gun back in the hip holster. "Shall we unpack for the night?" he said before giving Ziva a quick peck on the lips.

She smiled and nodded. Before too long they had chosen the middle house, brought in their sleeping bags, some food, water and essentials. The car was covered with a sand-hued tarp kept in the trunk and locked up tight.

Tony built a fire in the pit centered in the house and Ziva zipped their sleeping bags together and set them near the pit. She fluffed up the small pillows they kept inside the sleeping bags, pulled off her boots and took a seat in front of the fire.

"Baked beans or chicken soup?" she asked as she rifled through the food they'd brought in.

"Chicken soup," Tony answered with a smirk. "I still have nightmares over what baked beans do to McGee."

Ziva looked up at Tony for a long moment then started to laugh. "I remember that night. The stakeout in that cabin. We finally kicked McGee out of the room and made him sleep in the bathtub."

"And that was too good for him!" Tony announced, "We should have made him sleep on the porch to scare the bears away."

Ziva snickered. "It was a good thing we did not need to light a match. The whole place would have gone up like a roman candle. But I did feel bad for McGee the next morning."

"Eh, McGee is wire-y he bounced out of bathtub shape in no time," Tony nodded as he set the pot over the fire for Ziva to pour in the soup. "Have you thought of our antics much while you've been out here, Ziva?"

Ziva glanced at Tony as she finished pouring the soup into the pot, "All the time, Tony." She sat back and handed him one of the bottled waters she set down next to her. "On nights like this especially. Nights where there was no more mission to actively tend, when there was more waiting than anything else to do...I thought of us. You and me and McGee and Gibbs. I remembered scrabble games and pranks and food, lots of food," she said with a wide smile.

"Ahh who can forget the food," Tony pulled her closer to his side. "Onion rings, greasy hamburgers."

"Pizza," Ziva added, "and salads with French dressing."

"Pft, salads," Tony shook his head, "that is not stake out food."

"I remember everything," she said wistfully.

Tony turned into her and brought her into a kiss. "I remember so many times wanting to do just this," he said before kissing her again, pulling her closer. He wanted to fall back and make love but for some reason the object of his love was pulling away.

"Tony," Ziva said breathless, "the soup will burn."

"Oh," Tony frowned as he turned to the pot. "I guess we can't put it on low, huh?"

Ziva shook her head as she extricated herself from his embrace and took the pot off the fire. She handed Tony a spoon, "dig in my little furry bear."

"Little?" Tony raised an eyebrow.

"Oh," Ziva widened her eyes in response, "I guess it should be my enormous furry bear?"

"Better," Tony nodded and fed Ziva a spoonful of soup.

They polished off the soup and split one of the chocolate brownies before tidying up. Ziva took her toiletries bag and went into the small bathroom the house had. It was a typical bathroom in the region. A tub, sink and toilet in the ground. There was no running water but there were three buckets and one was mostly full with dirty water. She used a portion of the water to flush and used some of her bottled water to freshen herself.

When she turned to leave the bath the sight of the dirty water in the bucket jarred her. The battered bucket looked like what she had in Somalia. Ziva glanced around and realized the walls in this poor house were darkened concrete like those walls had been. She closed her eyes and took a breath. "Do not dwell, Ziva," she muttered to herself.

After a moment she left the bathroom, pulled off her pants and crawled into the sleeping bag next to Tony.

"Ready for bed already?" Tony grinned as he touched her waist.

Ziva nodded, "tired."

Tony leaned over her and kissed her, "Ok, just let me freshen up too and we'll snuggle in for the night, ninja."

Ziva nodded again as Tony got up and went into the bathroom. It wasn't until the door opened again that she realized she'd not taken her eyes off the door and had placed her hand on her gun. When she saw he was returning to her she moved the gun away slightly but still kept it close.

Tony slipped into the bag behind her and moved his arm around her waist, "Let's get some sleep then. The sun rises pretty quick."

Ziva turned slightly in his arm and kissed him. She knew he would have preferred to make love and opted to just hold her so she could rest. She put her hand over his and snuggled back into him. "I love you," she whispered.

"I love you, Ziva David, forever," Tony said as they closed their eyes.

* * *

"Ziva, wake up, baby," Tony hovered over her as she tried to catch her breath, as she struggled in nightmare. "Ziva!"

She startled awake and he caught her in his arms, "You lied!"

"Ziva," he ran a hand over her forehead and pushed her hair back, "it's a nightmare. No one else is here."

Ziva blinked and inhaled deeply. It took her a moment to orient herself again but when she had she put her hands on Tony's face. "Are you all right?"

"Yes," Tony assured. "But you aren't"

"I am," she said as she took one last look at him, drop her hands away and reached for her water bottle. "I just need some water. I am sorry to have waked you."

"Ziva," Tony scolded.

"I am fine, Tony, please do not make a fuss," she said as she took a long drink from the bottle then recapped it.

"You screamed out Saleem's name," Tony told her as he took hold of her hand.

Ziva glanced at their joined hands as if they were alien to her for a moment then she looked up into his eyes, "Sometimes those days come back... it is rare now but it happens from time to time. Please, just ignore it. Let's get some sleep we should still be able to get a few more hours."

"No," Tony stated firmly. "I know you've never opened up to anyone about those days. The closest you came was telling me about Saleem's beliefs in that warehouse were we found the makings of a dirty bomb. But, I know you never told anyone anything of what really happened in that camp."

"There is nothing to tell, Tony," Ziva sat up straighter, "I was a prisoner. I was drugged as you were when you were there. I was beaten a few times but not often and I was left in a small room with my thoughts most days. Tony, this is nothing. I simply saw the bucket in the bathroom here and it reminded me of that small room in Saleem's camp. It is nothing more than that."

"Do you trust me?" Tony asked.

Ziva glanced at him incredulously, "Of course I do."

"Then answer my questions," Tony moved to sit in front of her but kept her hand in his.

"What do you want to know?"

"How many times did Saleem beat you?" Tony held her hand tighter.

"Not many," Ziva said.

"Ziva," Tony stared at her.

"Five but only once severely," she answered honestly.

"How often did he drug you?" Tony placed his other hand on her knee.

Ziva glanced at the movement then looked back up at him, "In the four months, six times. I fought the drug early on and lost consciousness. The drugged was effective later and I answered questions related to NCIS but I never said anything that was classified. I found a way to answer his questions without revealing what I thought should be kept secret. He would ask if I knew if there were any Mossad or NCIS agents monitoring certain regions. I would answer that I do not know who would be monitoring him. Of course I knew he was being monitored but in my mind I answered honestly because I did not know the agent's names."

"Clever," Tony grinned. "My clever ninja. You beat him at his own game and he never caught on."

Ziva nodded.

"Did any of the men in his camp hurt you?" Tony continued.

"No," Ziva shook her head. "Except for escorting me from one room to another at times and bringing me food, I had little contact with the other men in the camp. Tony," Ziva squeezed his hand, "none of Saleem's men raped me."

"Did Saleem?" he asked pointedly.

Ziva took a breath, "Yes, a few times but know... Saleem was an inadequate man," she stated as she pulled Tony closer. "Nothing he did to my body had any lasting effects."

"Ziva," Tony breathed.

"Please," Ziva swallowed hard, "do not allow that to taint your view of me."

Tony pulled her into his arms, "nothing in the world would ever taint my view of you, Ziva, nothing. I love you. I am just angry that you had to endure that. That you have to see it in your nightmares."

"I do not see that in my nightmares, Tony," Ziva shook her head as she pulled back from Tony, "that was and is of little consequence to me. I do not dwell on torture tactics such as those."

"Then what haunts you, baby?" Tony asked as he touched her face.

"One of the last times Saleem drugged me there was truly nothing left for him to asked," Ziva settled into Tony's embrace and held his hand again, "he was drunk and apparently in the mood to be a sadistic bastard. He...he became sexual and then asked me if I wanted him, if I could love a man like him. I told him I loved another. I told him he was inadequate," Ziva smirked up at Tony, "and I told him his hate would drive away anyone that might love him. He would always have to force himself on a woman. He then told me that he'd killed the man I love. That he'd sent men out to find and kill him."

"I don't understand?" Tony peered at her in the dim light from the low fire. "You knew Rivkin was dead."

"I was not in love with him," Ziva gasped in a ragged breath, "I thought Saleem had killed you. I was in a haze caused by the drugs and when he'd said that my heart broke believing it was you. I understood very quickly that Saleem could not have possibly known who you were but-"

"Ziva..."

"The memory of that lie is what gives me the nightmares," Ziva admitted, "I see Saleem kill you."

Tony held her tight in his arms, kissed her temple, and she felt his tear wet her cheek.

"When he removed the hood that day and I saw you sitting there," Ziva pushed back into Tony's chest, wanted to feel his warmth on her, around her, "I told you you should not have come and I meant it. I was scared to death because you were really there. You were within his grasp and you might die with me."

"I was prepared to die with you," Tony told her, "I was prepared to die taking Saleem out."

"We are a mess, DiNozzo," Ziva said as she looked back up at him.

"I know," Tony kissed her lightly, "but at least now we're a mess together."

"Saleem is dead," Ziva moved to lay down again with Tony, "that time is over, long over. It no longer hangs between us," Ziva's voice cracked as she said, "I hope."

"Nothing will ever hang between us again, ninja," Tony said as he moved over her and kissed her deeply, he couldn't get enough of her taste, of her body pressed to his.

Their battered hearts reached out for one another as their bodies tangled in the love they'd denied themselves time after time. There would never be any more denying, never be anymore doubt between them. Their love had been built one stone at a time and would never falter.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I want to thank Schur655 for clueing my in on some wonderful information regarding the area and the forces in Syria. I've put a good deal of that info into this chapter. Hope everyone enjoys.**

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Sleep had only claimed Tony for a couple of hours, his mind would not allow him to rest peacefully even with Ziva in his arms. He was angry, not at that bastard Saleem but at himself. Angry that he hadn't forced the issue with Ziva sooner; that he hadn't declared he wanted her years ago and had almost let her slip away from him. She loved him, he knew that, yes. But more, she was willing to give all she had, all she was for him and he couldn't man up enough to let her know how he felt too?

What had he let get in the way of them? Why had he been so skittish about going after her sooner? It wasn't just Gibbs or rule twelve, even if that had been part of it. It had been a mixture of guilt, fear and stupidity. He thought she wasn't ready for anything that first year after Somalia but then Ray happened and then Eli died… did any of that matter? He should have told her he wanted her. He should have taken hold and never let go.

He loved her, he loved Ziva David more than he'd love anyone or anything in his life. She was a part of him and he'd been so lost without her, he knew he had simply been an empty shell these last two years and he also knew that no matter what happened he would never be parted from her again.

Tony took in her scent as he buried his face in her hair. He loved it, that unique, spicy, delicate scent that was his Ziva. He pulled her the slightest bit closer then felt her stir.

"Morning, Ninja," Tony whispered into Ziva's ear as the sun was just starting to banish the night.

"Morning," she muttered as she started to stretch slightly then snuggled back into his chest. She exhaled then he watched her as she stared out into the room without a word.

"What are you thinking?" he asked softly.

"That they are going to need to cross the Tahsin dam in order to cross the Euphrates," Ziva said and he saw her mind working, "if we beat them to the dam we may be able to ambush them on the other side… and that I love you."

Tony blinked then kissed her neck tenderly, "my little multitasker," he quipped.

Ziva turned in his arms, kissed Tony briefly then climbed out of their sleeping bag and headed to the bathroom.

Tony was tempted to join her but she'd just probably toss him out on his ear. He didn't like what that room reminded her of, but what pierced his heart was that her nightmares were not about her own pain but fear that he'd be hurt. When they finally returned home, he would spoil her as best he could. He would give her the love they both needed so desperately.

He got out of the sleeping bag and rolled it up, gathered their things and traded places with Ziva in the bathroom when she exited. It didn't take them long; soon they were back in the car and left before the truck got underway again.

By the time they reached the Tahsin dam, Ziva was antsy. There were some aid convoys passing and refugees crossing and Ziva didn't want to be obvious. She asked Tony to pull ahead a few miles near some fortified houses. The moment Tony stepped out of the car a bullet grazed the hood.

"Tony, get down!" Ziva shouted as she opened her door.

"What the hell are you doing?" Tony barked at her as he pulled his gun and watched her wave her hands in the air.

"You'll see," she said.

Tony saw two young girls, no more than fourteen, step out from behind the house and approach with rifles aim at them. It took them a moment but then one of the girls let her rifle loose to swing back on her shoulder and ran to Ziva.

The girl screamed in a language Tony didn't recognize and threw herself around Ziva into a hug.

Ziva hugged her back and then hugged the second girl who came up to join them, "The beard is with me," she said as she waved for him to join them.

"Guess, you've been acquainted," Tony smirked as he closed his door and circled the car.

"Oh," one of the girls blinked, "an American?"

"Yup, I'm Tony," he answered as he peered at the shorter girl, "and your English is excellent."

"Thank you," the girl said.

"This is Amara," Ziva introduced the shorter girl first, "and Elana," she gestured to the second girl. "They are part of the YPJ," she turned to Tony fully, "a primarily Kurdish group of girls who fight for their territory. And they are very effective."

"It's like a group of young..well yous," Tony widened his eyes and grinned at Ziva.

Amara giggled and nodded, "Ziva helped train some of us. So, yes, we are like her."

"Come," Elana waved towards the house, "we have food inside."

Tony walked next to Ziva as they followed the girls around the house, "You helped train them?"

"It was only a few weeks a long while ago," Ziva explained, "not long after you returned to DC. They took what I taught them and have been very successful, Tony. I just wanted to know that they could protect themselves."

"Did a good job, Ninja," he said proudly, "a good job."

Ziva smiled up at him then turned to see the other girls who greeted her warmly, some she knew from before, some were new faces that had heard of her.

"I do not have much time," Ziva started as the girls gathered round, "someone who we value greatly was taken hostage and is being moved across the dam shortly. I need to stop the truck and get that man back."

"We will help," Elana offered as the other girls made noises of agreement, "do you know when the truck will cross?"

"Yes," Ziva pulled out her tablet, "I have a track on them. But once I get the hostage I will not be able to stay longer."

"We understand and we are happy we can be of help," Elana nodded.

"And you are lucky we did not kill your bearded friend there," Amara winked.

Ziva stifled a chuckle and looked at Tony, "They really don't like beards. They tend to shoot first."

"Would it be all right to have a helicopter come and get us here?" Ziva asked.

"Yes, yes," Elana confirmed, "we have control of this entire area. I will have someone send the information to the other houses."

"Then let's get to work," Ziva went to the table and set her tablet down with a map of the dam area.

"We have ambushed the dam a number of times," Elana said, "we can position here, here and here," she pointed to three spots on the map. "But we will need to get them to stop."

"My guess is they won't stop for a stalled car or to help anyone," Tony offered. "So what's the incentive?"

"Me," Ziva answered. "I will tear my shirt and limp across the dam."

"These guys aren't going to stop to help a woman," he glanced sideways at her.

"No," Ziva shook her head, "not to help."

"They will stop to rape her," Amara said flatly.

"I don't like it," Tony snapped as his whole body tensed, "why don't we just set up a blockade?"

"They will know it is an ambush then," Elana stated, "and ram the blockade until they are through or turn around. We will lose them."

"Do not worry, Tony," Amara tapped her rifle, "we are very good shots."

"I can cross the dam instead of Ziva," Elana grinned at Tony, "if you are worried for her?"

"No," Ziva shook her head, "I will do it."

"So you are the one Ziva loves," Amara peered up at Tony, "it is good to meet you!" she grabbed and shook his hand.

"And how can you tell that, Amara?" Ziva smiled but narrowed her eyes at the her.

"We can tell," Amara turned to some of the other girls who chuckled, "he stands close to you and you let him."

Ziva lowered her head with a smile before glancing up at Tony, "Yes, he is the one I love. But," she patted his chest, "he will not stop me from crossing the dam."

As much as Tony wanted to argue, as much as he wanted to find an alternative to this tactic, he wasn't about to put one of the young girls in harm's way. He glanced at Ziva and saw that she knew his fear. Ziva squeezed his hand momentarily before turning to the tablet.

"They should arrive in about an hour according to their position," Ziva indicated the blinking green dot on the map.

"Fara," Elana called, "go to the other houses and tell them. Ziva you can use my room," she pointed to the door behind them, "if you want a private time with Tony," she grinned. "I will see to this."

Ziva nodded at Elana, "I need to make a call. Thank you," she said before slipping past the door with Tony then taking out her sat-phone.

"I hate this," Tony started before she could dial.

"I know," Ziva touched his face, kissed him softly, "but it is the most effective way. These men are pigs and it is possible they will not stop. If that happens I will have to shoot out their tires and it could become..."

"A shit storm," Tony finished. "Damnit, Ziva."

"This is the best chance for a quick and efficient take down, Tony," she insisted, "we can get this done, now and be at base by tonight."

He wanted to argue but he knew she was right. It didn't make it easier, nothing about this was easy and he suddenly longed for a good, old-fashioned killer at Rock Creek Park. This woman was his life and he would not let anyone take her from him...ever.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hi everyone: I know this hasn't been updated in forever. At first it was family issues then it was lack of enthusiasm for Tiva. They really did a number on Tony these last years. But with the tiny hope that we get just one line that says Tony leaves NCIS to be with Ziva... I hope to fuel the end of this story. I am trying to wrap it up faster than I had planned so I know it gets down but there's at least a couple more chapters. I am not promising they will come fast but they will come. Hope everyone is well and hope we get our Tiva happy ending! Hugs all! And a special hug to CelestrialMoonz... she kept asking for this fic! So I dedicate the ending to her!**

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Grasping a torn hijab, Ziva limped alongside the road. Her clothes were dirty and ripped, made to look like she'd been assaulted recently. Her hair blew in the slight breeze as she inched towards the dam crossing. The girls were strategically placed behind burned cars that littered the area or near the dam; Tony was hidden in the sand and to his credit Ziva couldn't make out exactly where he hid with his rifle. But she knew without doubt that he watched her every step.

Tony here with her scared the hell out of her even as she took comfort, love from him. But she'd made the choice at the grove house to push him away, to not involve him in this because she didn't want the man she loved to die on these sands.

This rescue could go wrong in so many ways, but she'd taught the girls well and she trusted Tony. No, they would get Kellerman and be back at base tonight. The question was, how was she going to end Hakari finally? She prayed the fates would be kind on them soon.

Ziva looked up as she heard the roar of the truck's engine. It had just started to cross the dam and she stilled. As it came into view she backed away and made them believe she was frightened, started running away from the road but she deliberately stumbled so not to be out of the line of sight of the others.

As anticipated, the truck stopped and the man in the passenger seat jumped out while the driver opened the door and stood on the running board looking at her. The man walking towards her shouted in Arabic, "There is nothing to fear. We can help you."

"I am fine," Ziva replied in Arabic, a tinged of desperation in her tone, "please, please just leave me alone and go on your way."

"You are too pretty to pass by," the man menaced as he rushed towards her.

Ziva rolled her eyes and stood, "How predictable," she commented before her hand rose with her fun and shot the man between the eyes. An instant later she saw as Tony took out the driver and the body fell to the side of the truck.

With her gun drawn, Ziva approached the truck. Tony had revealed himself and moved towards her with the rifle aimed at the truck. The girls started to slowly emerge as well. Ziva checked the truck and made sure the driver was dead and no one else lingered about. She then snatched the keys off the ignition and made her way to the back of the truck with Tony shouldering his rifle and by her side.

Tony took the keys, unlocked the padlock and opened the rear doors. Ziva had her gun aimed but there was no one else with Kellerman, he was alone, tied to a bar in the back.

Kellerman blinked as the sunlight filtered into the truck and Ziva hopped up to unthie him.

"Sir," Ziva started as she cut the zip ties with her knife, "are you hurt?"

"Ziva?" Kellerman said incredulously, "how in hell did you find me?"

"Luck and help from friends, sir," Ziva said as she helped him stand.

Tony assisted Kellerman first then Ziva down the back of the truck, "You seem in one piece, sir," he observed, "I'm sure SecNav will be happy to see they didn't mess with your good looks."

"Yes," Kellerman smiled at Tony, "I rather like my head attached too."

"Amara," Ziva called, "can you get the truck out of sight?"

"Just need the keys," Amara replied as she took them from Tony, "The bodies are already in the sand," she reported.

Ziva smiled and nodded, "We have transport a click away, can you walk well enough, sir?"

"Yes, yes," Kellerman nodded. He was a bit roughed up but seemed good, "I'm fine but I'm still shocked that you found me, Ziva. Everything Sarah said about you is true and more."

"You don't know the half of it," Tony smirked.

"We should go," Ziva led them towards the girls' house as Amara moved the truck. Ziva turned when she heard the truck stop and put her hand on her gun.

Ziva could just make out Amara and a small convoy of what appeared to be refugees ahead. A few moments later she saw Amara jump out of the truck and head back towards them while the refugees boarded the truck. "Nice job, Amara," Ziva muttered to herself.

As they arrived back at the house, Fara offered Kellerman some water he gratefully accepted and Ziva contacted Liam on the sat-phone.

"The helicopter will be here shortly," Ziva reported. "Amara, our car has some supplies and weapons," she told the girl, "make good use of them," she smiled as she handed Amara the keys.

"We will," Amara hugged Ziva.

"You ok?" Tony whispered in Ziva's ear.

Ziva nodded and squeezed his hand. "Let's get the hell out of here, yes?"

"Hell yes," Kellerman replied.

"You girls have that number I gave you?" Ziva asked before they headed out the door.

"We do," Elana answered, "but this is home."

"You girls helped save a US Ambassador," Kellerman said hoarsely, "I'm sure we could get you back to the States-"

"We are well here," Elana interrupted. "But thank you, Mr. Ambassador. We have a job here."

With one last nod, Ziva thanked the girls and left. It only took a few moments to board the helicopter and get underway. They'd be at base in less than an hour. Ziva prayed they'd be all right.

As they flew over some of the villages she saw men scramble, clearly to get weapons and try and shoot them out of the sky but they moved too fast. Once they cleared Syrian airspace into Iraq they landed at base in less than fifteen minutes.

Tony and Kellerman exited the Helicopter first then Ziva. Tony expected a fuss over Kellerman but it didn't happen; the personnel that approached them all surrounded Ziva.

"Agent David," a blond man in a Lieutenant's uniform approached her, "good to have you back at base. You're needed at TacOps immediately."

"See that Ambassador Kellerman is taken to medical immediately and arrange transport to DC," Ziva ordered.

"Ziva," Kellerman stepped towards her, "I need a secure line to State and then to Sarah…"

Ziva nodded, "There is a secure com line just off the medical bay. Lieutenant Harris here will see that you are connected, sir."

Kellerman squeezed Ziva's shoulder, "Thank you," he said before following Harris.

"Agent David," this time it was a dark haired older woman who took a moment to survey Ziva, "we have a situation in Aleppo you should be aware of."

"Chief," A young man with dimples and brown hair also vied for Ziva's attention, "I mean Agent David," he corrected himself, "I need to know if you want the new drones ready for launch?"

"New drones?" Ziva peered at the young man, "O'Conner, where is Liam and why are you not asking him this?"

"I have," O'Conner nodded, "he doesn't answer and well with what's going on in Aleppo?"

Ziva turned to the woman, "Garcia, what the hell is going on in Aleppo?" She asked as she and Tony started walking away from the Helicopter towards the building.

Garcia glanced at Tony, "O'Conner get Agent David's friend here to quarters...pass him off to Patel before you head back to the weapons depot."

"No," Ziva scowled, "Get Agent DiNozzo a security pass to TacOps. He will be consulting with me."

Garcia blinked and frowned, "Very well," she nodded. "But they need you down there now."

"O'Conner," Ziva turned to face him, "have the drones readied."

"Yes, Ma'am...I mean Agent," he said before rushing off.

"Agent DiNozzo," Garcia started, "you will have to come with me for clearance."

"Garcia," Ziva interrupted, "just get him a damn pass. He will be staying at my side."

"Liam won't like that," Garcia muttered to Ziva as if Tony's didn't hear her clearly.

"That's a bonus," Tony quipped.

They moved quickly into the main building, past security checkpoints that just parted for Ziva, and down to the sublevels. Ziva was greeted in some form by all they passed and Tony got the old looksee by them. As they entered TacOps, Garcia placed her hand on Tony's arm and whispered, "stand back for now."

Ziva moved right to the front and stopped before the big screen and the tactical table. Tony noticed Liam slither his way next to her.

"So what do we have in Aleppo?" Ziva asked as one of the officers handed her a headset.

"Turf war," Liam spoke up and hit some controls on the table, "Tahan's group wants to move in and Hakari isn't happy. Hakari postponed his move hours after you and...after you left the city."

Tony couldn't help but smile, _turf war_, he so badly wanted to whisper _smurf war_ in her ear.

"We can use a drone to let them know we are watching," Liam suggested, "it might cool things down."

"Why should we cool down the smurf war?" Ziva muttered almost to herself, "Most of the civilians have moved out of that area. Those that are left know how to hide. If this map you are showing me is accurate? The only people in those blocks are factions and their leaders. Let them bloody up each other. It may provide an opportunity for us to go in and take out Hakari and Tahan." Ziva put her headset on the table and nodded. "Keep an eye on them and keep the drones ready just in case but as far as I am concerned let them battle it out. Will be less guns for us to deal with when we do go in."

Tony stepped up to Ziva and leaned in, "Turf war, with a T," he whispered in her ear through an uncontrollable smile.

Liam scowled up at him, "We are fully versed with her language quirks."

"Turf war," Ziva corrected herself, "let them fight it out like the Sharks and the Dolphins."

"Jets," Tony snickered, "the Dolphins have a terrible quarterback this year."

"What he said," Ziva grinned and waved her hand about, "send word to the rebels to back away."

Liam took off his headset and handed it to another officer before he moved closer to him and Ziva, "congratulations on Kellerman's rescue."

"Why thanks, Liam," Tony pulled Ziva just a bit closer, "we managed just fine on that didn't we."

"She takes too many risks," Liam stared directly at Ziva.

"I know," Tony responded. "A few less now, I hope?" he said as he gazed into her eyes.

Ziva smiled up at him then seemed to remember where she was, "Tony and I have had a long few days. Unless World War III breaks out do not bother us for a least twenty-four hours."

"That long?" Liam rose an eyebrow.

"That long," Tony winked before he turned and escorted Ziva out of TacOps.


	10. Chapter 10

Ziva led Tony to her quarters on base and while Ziva ignored the stares as they passed people in the hall, Tony caught them all...and grinned. Most were curious stares but there were a couple that he pegged as unfriendly; probably Liam's friends.

They arrived at the end of the hall where double doors stood with a plaque outside reading _Station Chief_. Ziva inputed a code into a side panel then leaned over and whispered to Tony, "Just correspond the numbers to toe," she pointed down at his foot, "and knee," she tapped his knee. "And that so was not your knee," she winked before opening the door.

The moment they were inside, Tony grabbed her and kissed her, a kiss that increased in intensity all on its own before they managed to part, "It was never my knee," he muttered before their tongues met again in a heated kiss. He pressed her to the door as he pushed away her offending jacket. It was covering entirely too much of her.

Ziva smoothed her fingers over his cheek as her jacket tumbled to the floor, "Tony," she interrupted with a breathy tone, "I need one minute...to check on Kellerman."

Tony let out an exasperated sigh, "way to break the mood, ninja."

Ziva grinned up at him, pecked his neck and playfully pushed him back, "I am not worried. All I have to do is look at you a certain way and-"

"That's true," Tony confirmed. He bent down and picked up her jacket then turned and took a good look at the room. It was fairly impressive; clearly multiple rooms. He entered past her small foyer into the living/dining/kitchen area. It was very well appointed, granite counter in a very sleek kitchen, big screen TV in front of some very comfortable looking sofas and a round dining table.

"There's a small office, two bathrooms and the master is back there, Tony," Ziva stated as she grabbed a phone from the counter and he heard her ask for Kellerman.

While Ziva talked to the ambassador, Tony poked around. He glanced into the office she mentioned and the first thing that caught his eye was a framed picture on the desk. It was the four of them, him, Ziva, McGee and Gibbs during Thanksgiving at Ducky's. He remembered this picture, Ducky took it himself with Ziva's cell. Abby had been getting a drink in the kitchen and when she returned she was all upset she wasn't in the picture and forced Ducky to take another but with her phone. That was likely why Abby wasn't in this picture now, Ziva didn't have the second pic.

It made him smile for a moment she hadn't forgotten them even if everyone else had tried to move on. Tony took a breath then left and found the master; there he saw another picture but this time it was just of him and Ziva. It was the selfie he took of them the night they went out with Schmiel. Tony released a long breath before he took off his own jacket and tossed his shoes in a corner. He padded into the bathroom and splashed some water on his face.

All this time Ziva had been risking everything to protect him from his own past. She walked away from the people she loved, from everything she had carved out for herself all to save his ass. There was no question, he would do the same for her without thought. But what gnawed at him was the others. Abby disposed of Ziva's flag after that first year and had told him to move on - something Tony knew he would never be able to do. McGee was better, he let Tony talk about Ziva when he needed to but Gibbs, Gibbs buried her. It was as if she'd died in his eyes. What would they think now? He knew people had different ways of dealing with loss, even this kind of loss, but he found it hard to forgive them. Somehow he knew, Ziva would be more generous with that.

"And done, Tony," Ziva stated as she entered the master, "Kellerman already spoke with SecNav and his transport is due to depart first thing in the morning. I would have sent him out tonight but there's activity in the northern sector and I'd rather make sure his path is clear."

"My strategic ninja," Tony grinned as he looked at her from the bathroom's doorway. "I'm sure SecNav appreciates it," he said before he approached her and decided to lend some assistance with her boots as she sat on the edge of the bed.

Once her boots were off, Ziva touched Tony's face as he knelt in front of her, "Tony, I love and hate that you are here. I need to ask you one more time, please, would you go back to the states with Kellerman? I can finish this and then-"

"Hell no," Tony interrupted. He turned his head and kissed the palm of her left hand before standing. "We're a team, partners, remember?"

Ziva stood and stared into his eyes, she had been ready to argue but the will to fight him just slipped away as she looked into those green depths. "I remember," she whispered.

Pulling her against him, Tony kissed her. Softly. Slowly. Hands cupped her face and brushed her hair off her cheeks. He explored her mouth, her taste, and deepened the kiss until she wound her arms around him and held tight.

She exploded across his senses, her soft skin, her scent, it all combined to drive him mad. he could not be away from this woman or ever risk losing her again. Ziva kissed him back with equal fervor, equal longing. Tony walked her the step toward the bed, and they fell onto it. He cradled her against him, his mouth on hers and his hands slipping beneath her top until he managed to remove it completely.

Ziva arched against him in just her bra and pants, her mouth meeting his, breath hitching but open, so open to his touch. Everything had changed, altered between them so quickly. There were no more games, no more hiding feelings or pretending this pull didn't exist between them, no, now it was just a given. A given that they wanted, needed and loved each other. He abruptly stood and shed the rest of his clothing, his eyes never leaving hers. Ziva watched him undress, her eyes surveying him and clearly enjoying every single inch of him, she wet her lips, bit the bottom one before she extended her hand to him, needing him close now. His control, however limited, vanished. Disappeared in Ziva's taste and her touch, in her skin beneath his fingers and her mouth beneath his. Tony tried to pull back, but then she reached out and took his hand.

"Tony, I will not ask you to leave again," Ziva promised. "You are my partner in every way."

"I love you, Ziva David," The words held all that he was, "that will never change," he moved over her and kissed her; once he released her mouth he kissed down her throat, nipping the tender skin. Her clothing was discarded as swiftly as his was.

She laid beneath him—open and vulnerable, her eyes heavy with arousal and trust. That trust was his undoing. She gave it all to him. He needed her skin against his, he needed all of her, now. He intended to worship her. To commit every taste and sigh and plea she uttered to memory. He had no intentions of wasting one more moment, ever.

His fingers were gentle on her hips and along her thighs. Tony kissed down her body, over the swell of her hip and every other delicious inch before him. Ziva cried out with pleasure and a hint of wickedness. They joined in the most delectable and erotic manner. But more than just the pleasure they brought to their bodies, they brought a completion to their beings that both knew could only be found with the other.

Slowly the bedroom returned into focus and he opened his eyes, looking down at Ziva. She watched him through half-closed eyes, his arm now limply lying over her as the other cradled her, breathing still heavy.

"I may never want to leave this room, Ziva," he muttered as he kissed her gently.

"I may never want to leave this bed," she responded with a wicked glint in her eyes.

* * *

**Slightly shorter chapter, but I never know how far to go with the sex :).. don't forget to feedback!**


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